No Damsel Here
by ziesspot
Summary: When Santana is attacked and is saved by a mysterious kick-ass blonde martial artist, she notices something familiar in the way she moves. Santana decides to take some self defense classes so she doesn't feel as useless when it comes to protecting herself. Brittana AU. First time writer. Hope you enjoy it.
1. Chapter 1

AN: So, this is my first time writing a story. I've been reading so many fanfics and I've always had some ideas in my head but been kinda nervous to put it into words. Now that I've finally had the chance to sit down and write, I'm quite enjoying the flow of ideas. I'm still in the writing stages but I want to see if people are interested in this story or if people are still interested in reading Brittana fanfic since I've noticed the amount of posts have been dying down. Yes, I'm aware that I'm a little late jumping onto this train. Anyways, reviews and comments are appreciated, but this is my first time, so please be kind. Thanks! :)

"Help! Somebody! Help me!," she runs downs a short alley way to get as close to the end as fast as she can in the 3 inch pumps and a tight mini skirt she's wearing. Her dark hair floating behind her as she turns her head to look back behind her to the larger man with long scar next to his right eye and a mohawk chasing after her. She turns back around but her hair covers her eyes and she steps into a little dip in the cement and comes crashing down. Knees, elbows, and the palms of her hands are feeling a burn, but none of that hurts more than her right ankle; the one that stepped into that damn dip.

"CUT!" the director shouts. He's a tall, slim man with short brown hair. Wrinkles next to his mouth as he presses his lips together and furrows his brows. With a sigh he calls out, "first aid to the set. Bring an ice pack. Everyone else, take 5 …. Or 10… actually, let's just call it a day and shoot another scene tomorrow since I don't think Santana will be able to run for a few days." He grabs his clip board and walks away as the first aid attendants arrive.

Santana is now sitting with one knee bent up and looking at her scraped palms, "fuck," she breathes out.

Noah, the guy chasing her by her side with his hands on both her shoulders. First aid comes and Noah says, "ankle first, put some ice on it before it swells up too much." So that's exactly what one attendant does. The other one is tearing open an alcohol wipe and slowly holds it to Santana's palm then looking at her as permission to clean her wounds. Santana gives him her hand and squints her eyes in anticipation of the sting and sure enough, it stung. Santana winces a little and breathes in slightly. One wound cleaned, 5 more to go.

After Santana is all cleaned up and her ankle is all wrapped and she has been told that it's just a minor sprain but to stay off of it for a few days, Noah offers to give her a ride home and she accepts since she really didn't feel like taking the bus in her condition.

As soon as she gets home and Noah helps her into her apartment she asks him, "do you think I'm fired? There goes my big break as the damsel in distress. I know it was only a 5 minute shot, but it was the most I've ever had."

Noah chuckles, "don't worry about it. I'm sure you won't be fired. Terri wont fire you, you're too hot." Santana raises an eyebrow at him. "I mean, you're too good of a damsel. Anyways, take care of yourself, I think you'll be hearing from Terri pretty soon." He says as he opens her door. "Are you okay to get up and lock the door?"

Santana hobbles over towards the door, "I guess I don't have a choice. I won't be able to fight off any robbers… or even run away for that matter. So, I guess locking the door is my best bet. Thanks, Noah. Hope to see you on set again soon."

"Just call me Puck, all my friends do." And with that he waves and gets into his car and drives away.

"Goddamnit," Santana says and she hobbles back onto her couch. She tries to rotate her ankle but its way too swollen and painful to even move. So she decides to just lie down and try to rest. She closes her eyes but her mind won't stop running. She can't stop thinking about what a klutz she is. ' _There goes my acting career'_ , she thinks to herself. Not being able to sleep, she sits up and turns on the TV. She flips through the channels quickly not really paying attention since she's only doing this to keep her mind from spinning too much. She flips past a scene and a flash of blonde hair whipping through the air catches her eye and she flips the channel back. It's a fight scene between a girl with long blonde hair and taller Asian guy.

 _'Damn that girl has some nice kicks and some ass kicking moves. Holy hell she's wearing heels too. I wish I could move like that in heels and not fucking fall flat on my face.'_ Santana thinks to herself. She keeps her eyes glued to the TV watching the girl kick and flip. She's so tough, but yet.. so graceful. The Asian guy, who she's assuming is the bad guy is pretty damn athletic too. His muscles are ripped and he can move just as fast and smooth as the girl… but yet, Santana can't seem to take her eyes off the blonde with the banging body. When the fight is over and the Asian guy is knocked out against metal staircase the blonde looks down at him, but something looks strange to Santana. Yes, this girl is blonde, slim with a pretty decent body but she doesn't seem as fit and her legs don't seem as long as the person who was just fighting. _'Body double.'_ Santana shrugs and continues to flip through the channels until she gets bored and just shuts the TV off and hobbles to her bedroom to try to get some sleep.

That night, she had a dream of herself play fighting in high heels with a blonde girl whose face she was never able to see.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: This chapter is quite a bit longer than the last. I'm not sure how long my average chapters are going to be yet. So please don't expect all my chapters to be this long. Thank you to those to have reviewed and commented so far, it really helps motivate me to write more. I feel like I can put up a new chapter every 3-4 days, but hopefully this chapter will get you more interested in the story and into my style of writing. Yes, I realize Brittany isn't here yet, but she will be soon. There will probably be one more Santana/Puck chapter after this one before they meet though, so please stick with me.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it using nothing but my pure imagination. :)

* * *

 ** _I wish today it will rain all day_**

 ** _maybe that will kinda make the pain go away  
trying to give you for abandoning me  
praying but I think I'm still an angle away..._**

Santana jolts away to her phone going off. She fumbles around to look for it

 ** _Angel away, yeah strange in a way_**

"Oh come on, where the hell are you?" Santana mumbles feeling around for her phone, squinting and feeling groggy. The sound is coming from her desk which is about 3 feet away. She quickly takes a step down, "Fuck!" she falls right away forgetting about her injured ankle. She reaches up to grab her phone. "Hi Terri."

" _Hi Santana. How are you feeling today?"_

 _"_ Not too bad. My ankle is still a little sore though. It might be a couple of days… umm… am I … will I still be coming into work next week?"

 _"Hell yes! We caught your fall on film and it looks amazing and realistic."_

 _'Because it was real,'_ Santana thought to herself. She keeps quiet, hoping Terri will continue with what is going to happen with her character.

" _So, what's going to happen is, since your character was going to die anyways, I figure we'll take the fall, have CrazyChris, or Noah, catch up to you, you guys struggle a little bit before he ends up strangling you to death,"_ Terri says that with a surprisingly cheerful and upbeat tone. " _So, maybe if you can come in on Tuesday, we can film that scene just to start from you on the floor so you don't have to run or anything and you can still act just lying there."_

"Alright," Santana says, disappointed that she lost about 2 minutes of her screen time since she was supposed to run up some stairs, crawl under a table, and knock over a picture frame before she dies. But this is better than nothing. "See you on Tuesday."

Santana gets up off the floor and slowly tries to put some weight onto her foot and stumbles a bit. Nope. Still injured. Better, but injured. She limps her way to her kitchen and opens her cabinet to make herself a bowl of cereal, only finding a box of Lucky Charms her roommate Rory left before he moved back home to Ireland. He didn't stay for very long, nor did Santana like him very much but he was willing to pay more than half the rent and sleep on the couch, so she was okay with him being there for a few months.

"Ugh," she huffs out, "this shit is too damn sweet, who the heck wants to eat marshmallows first thing in the morning?" Since there's not much else to eat in her apartment and she really didn't feel like limping her way down the street for some food, she pours herself a bowl digging out as many marshmallows as she can and throwing them out. She makes her way to the couch and turns on the TV again. She sets a pillow on top of her coffee table and puts her foot on top of it. She's flipping through the channels again and her phone rings scaring her a little bit and she drops her remote onto the floor, she really ought to turn that ringtone down. "Geezus." She reaches to pick up her phone.

"Hello?"

" _Hi Santana, it's Puck. Just wanted to see how you were doing."_

 _"_ Who?"

 _"Puck… er… Noah"_

"Hi Noah. I'm.. well, not better, but I'm managing."

 _"Well, I'm in the neighbourhood and was wondering if I could drop by, perhaps with some pizza?"_

"Ooooh, that sounds great. Way better than this bowl of cereal I'm eating now."

 _"Cereal eh? For lunch?"_

Santana looks at the time. It's 12:24pm. Embarrassed she tries to explain that's all she had.

"Well, that's all I can manage as my current identity as Miss Hobblepants."

Puck chuckles into the phone, _"I'll be over in about 20mins with some real food."_

"Thanks, Noah"

 _"Please, call me Puck and I'll see you soon."_

Santana leans over to pick up her remote control when she glances up at the TV. Another fight scene. Blonde hair flies pass the screen again. High kicks, controlled long legs kicking some major ass. Santana can't seem to take her eyes off this blonde girl wearing a yellow tank top and skinny jeans beating up a shorter brunette male kickboxer. She quickly loses interest when the fight is over and the hot muscular blonde turns into the not so hot, not so muscular actress. She continues to flip through the channels when there's a knock on the door.

Santana limps her way to the doors and opens it. Puck is standing there with a smile, a box of pizza, and a 2L bottle of Cola under his arms. She opens the door wider to let him in.

"Not too bad with the hobbling, at least you're putting a little bit of weight on it."

"Yeah, I'm managing. Here put the pizza on this coffee table, I'll go get us some glasses." Santana says hopping over towards the couch.

"I'll get it," Puck replies after setting down the pizza next to the unfinished bowl of Lucky Charms. "You should sit and stop moving around so much. Just let me know where it is."

"Thanks. Top far right cabinet." Santana says as she sits down and respectively waits for Puck to return before opening the delicious smelling box of pizza. Her mouth already watering since her cereal was incredibly unsatisfying.

"So, Lucky charms eh?" Puck teases as he walks back into the living room with 2 glasses. "Breakfast of champions!"

"Shut up," Santana laughs. "It's all I had left and no, I didn't buy it. It was left over from my old roommate. He was a little obsessed with the whole leprechaun thing, I'm pretty sure he thought he was one or something."

"I'm sure," Puck laughs as he opens the box of mushroom and pepperoni pizza. "I hope you're okay with this. I wasn't sure what you like."

"Looks delicious." Santana quickly grabs a slice and takes a big bite groaning at the flavours that very much conquer that of the soggy cereal now sitting at the corner of the table. "So, Terri called me today."

"Yeah, he called me too. He told me about the changed of plans on our scene. See, I told you not to worry about it. I even get to … I mean… we get to have a little bit of an action scene rather than me just slitting your throat." Puck says and he takes a sip of his Cola.

"That's true." She nods. "I'm just glad I still have the part."

They both sit in awkward silence until Puck speaks up, "Can we watch some TV? There's this pretty awesome show that's on that has some of the best fight scenes I've ever seen on television. It's called _K.O. Kandi._ " Puck picks up the remote and changes the channel.

Santana shrugs and turns her attention to the television and isn't too interested in the story since she doesn't understand what's going on. She starts to lose a bit of focus and begins to day dream when some yelling on screen snaps her attention back. A fight scene breaks out and there she is again. This time with a green tank top, grey yoga pants, and sneakers. Her hair is in a high pony this time and Santana can't help but watch the muscles on her back move as she punches and dodges. She does a backflip off some boxes and sidekicks the taller dude in the jaw with her beautifully toned long legs. The guy is knocked out and the girl is breathing hard. Screen pans to her face and… meh, this definitely not the same girl. Her hair is in a shorter pony tail and her shoulders are nowhere close to being as broad.

She sighs, now that the show has become uninteresting again and glances over toward Puck. During the one and a half minute fight scene she was so intrigued by the show that she hadn't notice Puck as scooted over closer to her leaning back comfortably into her couch with a slight slant in his body tilting toward her. Taken aback at how close he was. She sees him turn his head slightly back towards the television and hoping he wasn't just staring at her. She turns her attention back to the television trying to avoid the awkwardness. She really doesn't want to get up because her ankle is still too sore.

Puck wants to break the silence because he wants to get to know Santana a bit better so he goes to Plan B. "Hey, I forgot to mention. While I was at the drug store I picked up some ointment for your ankle. Want me to put it on you?... uh, your ankle?" He reaches into his jacket pocket pulling out the ointment as a single condom falls out as well. He chances a look at Santana, luckily she wasn't looking at him. ' _She is apparently too into the show, she's really into these fight scenes. She must like some good action.'_ Puck thinks to himself as he quickly sticks the condom back into his jacket pocket.

Santana looks over at him and then the ointment. "Thanks, I'll pay you back for it. Here, I can put it on myself." She says reaching over for the tube.

"Don't worry about it. It didn't cost too much. It's kinda awkward to put it on yourself. You can't really get it massaged in properly from that angle, I'll help you. Trust me, I've treated a lot of sprains, I played football when I was in highschool." Puck says as he twists open the cap. "Here, just put your foot here." He puts a pillow on his lap and pats it asking her to lift her sore ankle onto it.

She looks at him with an eyebrow raised. Well, they're gonna be working together, might as well make a friend. He was nice to her and helped her out a lot on the day of the face plant. She gently puts her foot onto his lap. Puck rubs some ointment into his hand and slowly, but firmly begins massaging it into her ankle. She winces at the pain. He turns to look at her face. She bites her bottle lip to keep from sounding like a baby by saying, ' _ow ow ow ow ow.'_ He looks down to her lips. He thinks it's super sexy the way she bites her lip like that. She looks away trying to focus her attention at the TV instead, but there's no fight scene, therefore she's uninterested but she keeps her head turned anyways; so he doesn't see the embarrassing look of pain she's wearing on her face. He trails his eyes down her neck and stops at her chest. Stops, quite a long time at her chest. She's wearing a simple black v-neck tshirt that's fitted nicely against her flat toned stomach. He trails down and stops at her hips, then her crotch. He stops there for a while before trailing his gaze down her toned, tanned legs and back to her ankle just when she turns her head. Yup, he's been looking at her ankle this entire time. Yup, that's right.

Puck looks up at her and she gives him a small friendly half smile and turns her eyes back to the TV. Puck smirks to himself. "I'll give your calf muscle a massage too, since they're probably a bit stiff from not being used." He slides his hand up her ankle and onto her calf and begins rubbing and massaging her silky smooth lower leg.

"Um, okay, thanks! Anything that will help my ankle feel better for the shoot on Tuesday." Santana says keeping her attention to the TV.

' _Hells yea_ ,' Puck thinks to himself as he smirks again. He trails his gaze again up and down her leg. His touch, not so much as massaging as he is now just stroking her leg. He's getting turned on. The more he's 'massaging' her, the more excited he's getting. A little too excited. Santana notices he's not massaging anymore and looks at him with a raised eyebrow. He looks up at her and stops. "Hey, mind if I use your washroom?"

"Yeah sure, it's down the hall to the left." She points him into the correct direction. He puts her leg down softly removes the pillow and gets up and turns away from her quickly to keep her from seeing the rise in his jeans. He moves as quickly as he can to the washroom. Santana just shrugs and starts to clean up the plates and glasses from the table and she hobbles into the kitchen. Sure enough, her ankle does feel a little better.

Santana has finished putting the leftover pizza on a clean plate, broken down the box, and washed all the dishes and Puck still hasn't come out yet. Hoping he's okay, she calls out, "Hey Noah, you okay in there?"

She hears a quiet grunt and a quick "Yup!" before shrugging and heading back to the couch.

A few moments later Puck comes… back into the living room. Santana looks at him a little worried. "You were in there a while, are you okay?"

"Yeah, umm, I think the cheese upset my stomach a little bit. Sorry." He looks down then at the door. "Hey, I'm kinda tired now, I'm gonna go home and crash a bit."

Tired? It's only 2:30pm. But who is she to judge? She woke up at 12pm. Santana nods and shrugs. "Okay, thanks again so much for the pizza and the massage.. oh and the ointment. I can feel it working already. I'll be putting that on every day until Tuesday." She smiles.

"Yup, it's definitely working. If you want, I can come over and help you put it on." Puck takes a step closer.

Santana smiles awkwardly, "No, I don't want to trouble you. I got it. Thanks! I'll see you on Tuesday though."

Puck leans in for a tight hug and Santana lightly wraps her arms around the man's back awkwardly and patting his back slightly. She feels a little uncomfortable with his body pressed so close to her; literally, his entire front was pressed up against her.

After Puck leaves, Santana gets this feeling. She doesn't know what it is. It isn't good. It's a little icky. ' _He was just being a good friend and a good co-worker.'_ She thinks to herself. ' _Not everyone who wants to get to know me just wants to get into my pants right? That was high school; this is life, adult life. Adults are more mature than that, right?'_ She shakes her head and makes her way to her computer as she searches and looks into the cast members and possibly even stunt doubles of the show _K.O. Kandi._


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Yes, I know Puck seems like a creep and a douchebag. Yes, I wrote him up to be one. Sorry, if it offends anyone. This was just the direction my mind was pulling me towards. Don't worry though, you'll see some Brittany action very soon. Hoping to post a new chapter in 3-4 days. Please stay tuned.

* * *

It's Tuesday. Santana took a taxi to work. Her ankle feels a bit better thanks to Puck's ointment. She's able to walk on it with very little pain. She goes gets a bit of make up on and gets changed before she meets with Terri to discuss her scene. Puck shows up in his costume and his long scar next to his right eye.

"Hi San," Puck leans into Santana.

Ugh, she hates when people call her San. The 'tana' isn't silent.

"Hi Noah." She says with a half-smile and leans away a little, but not enough to make it awkward between them and Terri. She doesn't feel like she can be quite the bitch she wants to be towards him considering how kind he was to her the other day.

"We're just going over the scene," Terri explains. "So, here's what's going to happen. Santana, the green 'X' over there is your starting point." He points toward the direction and she sees the little dip she tripped on and glares at it. _Fucking dip_. "You are going to lay down on your stomach as if you had just fallen. Push yourself up with your hands and as soon as she lifts her upper half, Noah you straddle her from behind and flip her over. You say your lines and put your hand over her neck LIGHTLY, just at the bottom of her neck right here." He points to the spot he's talking about and Noah looks at it a little too long, "and pretend to squeeze. Santana just do your thing. Say your line, struggle, try to get him off of you. Puck, don't let go. Look mad. Maybe after about 10 seconds of struggling we will end the scene with your death, Santana. Puck you lean into down onto her and pretend to whisper into her ear. We will shoot the close up whispering scene next. Is that all clear?"

Both Santana and Puck nod.

They get into their marks.

"ACTION!"

Santana tries to get up from the ground when she feels Puck above her. He flips her over. "You think you can just get away from me you little bitch? No one ever gets away from me!" Santana is struggling as Puck puts his hands around the correct spot on her neck, pretending to squeeze.

"I may not be able to get away but Emma did and I'm glad she killed your psycho brother!" Santana struggles to say. Tears running down her face. They struggle for the 10 seconds they need to. Santana flailing around. Puck holding her down by her neck. Pushing her down as he sits lower into her. These 10 seconds were long enough for Puck, feeling her tight stomach wiggling between his legs. Once she stops moving, he leans forward onto her, his stomach basically against hers, to whisper into her ear, she feels something hard against her stomach. _Ohmygod. I hope that's not. No. Ew. Ew No!_ Santana snaps open her eyes before he can fake whisper.

"CUT!" Terri yells out. "Santana, you're dead. You can't just open your eyes."

Stunned, Santana looks over to Terri, then up at Puck who has confused look on his face. He's a great actor. "Sorry."

"Start it up again from the struggle. Take two. ACTION!"

This time, Santana is actually struggling, trying to get loose from Puck's weight against her stomach. Terri nods in approval not knowing how much Puck is actually enjoying the thrashing below him. Santana pretends to die again; this time for sure keeping her eyes closed so she wouldn't have to do this scene again. She feels him hard against her again but this time tries her best not to move as he leans in and 'pretends' to whisper. "Like what you feel?" he whispers super quietly into her ear, that to anyone else there was nothing. She tenses under him. Puck gets up from on top of her and struts away.

"CUT! Perfect! Actors take five while we get ready to shoot the close up whisper shot."

Santana gets up. Heart pounding. She's not sure if it's from the acting, Pucks weight and her thrashing, or from her very strong need to take a shower. She slowly makes her way to her chair and grabs a bottle of water. _What the fuck just happened? I guess Puck was nice to me for a reason. Fuckin' men._ One more scene to go and Santana was ready to get out of there and never see Puck again.

"I'll be right back," Puck says to anyone who's listening as he makes his way to the port-o-potty.

Santana turns her head to look at him, and then realize what he's doing in there. A cold shiver runs up her spine and the feeling of disgust hits her.

Puck returns looking a little flushed but relaxed with a stupid grin on his face.

They do the close up shot in one take where Puck whispers in her ear, "Emma didn't kill my brother, I did." With a creepy as look on his face and a smirk you just want to slap off of him.

"CUT! Excellent."

Puck gets up after the shot and holds his hand out for Santana to take. She looks at him with furrow brows and gets up on her own. He shrugs and makes his way back to the trailer. Yes, he gets his own trailer because he's Noah Puckerman, the lead of the new TV series, _CrazyChris_.

Santana walks toward Terri slowly and Terri has a big smile on his face. "Great job today, Santana. You really are a great actress. Especially that second take. It really looked like you were a little scared of him." Santana fakes a smile and nods. "I'll keep your resume on file in case we need you again, perhaps for a bigger role or something."

"Thanks, Terri. Am I done for the day?" Santana tries to act like nothing just happened and that she was proud of her work today.

"Yup! We'll keep in touch. The rest of your pay will be deposited into your account by tomorrow morning."

With a smile and a nod and a quick, "Thanks." Santana leaves the lot, waves down a taxi and goes straight home.

After a long, hot, almost scalding, shower, Santana is finally comfortable enough to relax on her couch. She closes her eyes for just a second.

 _She opens her eyes and Puck is topping her again. Straddling her and smiling at her. She's trying to get free but he's like a boulder on top of her. He won't budge. She stops moving and he says to her in a low, out of breath voice, "Come on San, don't stop. Don't stop. I don't want to finish without you this time." Santana closes her eyes tight. 'This is just a dream. Wake up. Wake up.' She opens her eyes and there Puck is, blurry, but it's still him. Rocking back and forth on his own this time. She's not even moving. She tries to scream, but nothing. When suddenly a flash of yellow hits Puck right off of her. She is frozen. She still can't move. Suddenly. She's standing. Watching. As Puck tries to fight off the blonde body double? Two punches to the face, back roundhouse kick to the ribs and a knee to the nose. She moves back and he charges at her. Santana wants to call out for her but she can't for three reasons. Number one, they seem so far away yet she can see them perfectly clear. Number two, she can't speak. Number three, she doesn't even know her name. All she sees now is the blonde stepping up and side kicking him right in the sternum he leans forward and she knees him right in the crotch hard and he drops to his knees, unable to move. Suddenly, the girl is gone and Santana feels sad again. Happy that Noah got what he deserved, but sad that she didn't even get to thank the other girl. Then she feels soft, slim, pale arms wrap around her waist. She looks over her shoulder and she sees a blonde head nuzzled into her shoulder, her head down so Santana can't see her face. As the girl lifts her head up…_

 ** _I wish today it will rain all day  
maybe that will kinda make the pain go away  
trying to give you for abandoning me  
praying but I think I'm still an angle away..._**

Santana's eyes suddenly open. She's clutching a pillow and her cell phone is ringing. "Fuck!" She looks at her phone. _Noah._ Santana suddenly feels furious. She wanted to tell him the truth later on when they became friends, but now that she knows for a fact they won't be, she might as well get it over with. She picks up the phone, "Listen Noah."

"It's Puck." He says in a slimy sing-song voice.

"No. Just no, okay? I'm not interested in you or any part of you. What you did was disgusting and repulsive. I would report you but no one will say anything because of who you are so let's just put it this way. If I see you again, I don't care who the fuck you are or who the fuck people think you are. I WILL hit you so hard, you won't be moving for days."

There was silence on the other end and Santana was afraid he hung up until he speaks up again. "Damn, San. I actually thought you liked me. I didn't think any hot femme could resist the Puckster. It's too bad for you because I'm more man than any guy you can find out here in this town."

"That's nice for you Noah, but isn't it a shame… I'm not interested in you, or any man for that matter. So really, it doesn't bother me AT ALL, but thanks for letting me know early on how much of a disgusting creep you are."

There's silence on the other line again. Wow, it really takes a while for this guy to process simple words. Then he starts up again, "Wait, what do you mean you're not interested in any man?"

"Let me break it down for you. Make it easy enough that even that tiny brain on the tip of your penis can understand. I. Am. Gayyyyyyyyy."

"No way, you're way too hot to be a lesbian. Quit playin' me, a lesbian could never give me a…" he trails off. "... a lesbian could never make me feel that way, no way, you're joking with me." He actually sounds worried… or even a little bit scared.

"Mhm, exactly. Jokes on you, Noah. Bye-bye now." She hangs up and shakes her head.

After all that, Santana decides to get some air. She changes into some baggy black sweat pants and slips into a white v-neck tshirt. She grabs a thin jacket and her keys and heads out for a walk outside. There's a slight breeze now and puts her jacket on.

"Oh, shit." She pats around and realizes she doesn't have her phone on her. Oh well, she's only going to be out for a few minutes to grab some fresh air and perhaps a kale and mango smoothie. She walks down the street and takes the short cut she always does through the alleyway that would lead her straight to the smoothie shop. It's not completely dark yet, but it's a quiet evening. "Oh, come on, Santana." She mumbles quietly to herself after realizing she didn't grab any money either. She turns around while looking down to take her keys out of her jacket when she bumps into a big burly man. "Oops, I'm sorry." Santana says as she looks up. The man is around her age, about 6'3", very stalky and wearing a black baseball cap and hoodie on top of it. Santana quickly tries to get around him. When he grabs her shoulder. She pushes him off of her and starts to run. Fuck! She can't run as fast as she wants to since her ankle isn't completely healed yet. He catches up to her easily and yanks her back into the side of the alley behind a dumpster. Just as she screams a car probably full of teenagers blast some music from a truck.

"Shut up! Gimmie money," he demands.

"I-I- don't have any," her voice shaking.

He holds her by her throat. "Money or this," He says again in a low growl as he raises his fist.

"I…told you…" She's crying now. Shaking. "I don't have.." she trails off and closes her eyes anticipating some sort of painful contact. Suddenly, she doesn't feel him on her anymore and she opens her eyes. She sees the big man stand and wind up to sock a slim blonde girl. She ducks under his hook and punches him right in the solar plexus. He lets out a wheeze and she kicks him on the side of his right knee. He screams out and goes down quick. The blonde grabs him by his hood yanking it up and stands behind him raising his chin.

"You can try to run away, but good luck getting far with that knee."

He pushes her away and tries to stand up, only to fall back down. She whispers something in his ear and all Santana can see is him nodding. The blond pushes him slightly and he starts to drag his sorry ass away. The way she moved, her agility, her strength, her speed; all looks so familiar to Santana. She's racking her brain for where she might have seen movements like that before. She keeps staring at the back of the blonde head as the blonde is watching the big guy crawl away. Once the guy is out of sight the tall girl wearing a light pink dri-fit Tshirt and green track pants with white strips starts to turn towards her. Santana's heart rate speeds up.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I'm sorry. I'm not so satisfied with this chapter. There was a lot of "stuff" but not much really going on. I couldn't figure out how to continue the story without being as specific as I see it in my head. I still hope you guys enjoy it and I'll have another (and hopefully better) chapter in less than 3 days to make up for this shitty chapter. Please review and comment so I know people are still interested.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

Santana's eyes widened as the girl turns around. The blonde girl jogs slightly towards Santana. _She's beautiful._ Santana tries to move but she can't. She's in too much shock at what just happened. Her eyes are a little unfocused on everything that's in front of her.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Santana looks up and all of a sudden the blur in her eyes are gone and all she sees are concerned blue eyes looking all over her face. She's captivated.

"Do I need to take you to the hospital? Did he hurt you?"

Santana shakes her head, not taking her eyes off of those blue ones in front of her. The blue eyes make contact with hers and Santana looks away for a moment then looks back into those clear blue eyes. "No, I'm okay, he didn't hurt me. Thank you. Thank you so much."

The blonde girl exhales in relief then gives a shy smile. "You're welcome and don't you worry. He won't be coming around here anymore. Umm – where were you headed?"

"I was just heading back home. I came out just for a moment to get some fresh air." Santana said and she pushed herself off the building she was leaning against. She started walking and felt a bit of pain in her ankle again, probably from running on it.

"You're limping." The blonde girl said with a little worry in her voice as she walked next to Santana, "are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?"

Santana smiled, "no, I'm ok. The injury isn't from today."

"Oh, okay. That's good then – well, no, it's not good. That's not what I meant. I just meant it's good you didn't get hurt by that asshole. Um… do you need any help? Like, did you want me to walk you back home or anything?"

Santana's heart beat just a bit faster after she heard the question. She would love for the girl to walk her home and was just about to tell her that when she looked up and sighed. "No, it's ok," she said shaking her head with a small frown of disappointment.

The blonde frowned slightly as well, and then perked up trying not to show her disappointment. "Okay" she nods, "get home safe then, and maybe put some on that ankle."

She's about to turn away when Santana chuckles lightly still staring at the blonde. The blonde turns to look at her, confused as to why she was so happy.

"I AM home safe, thanks to you." Santana says with a smile as she looks to her left at the building. The blonde cocks her head slightly waiting for Santana to continue. _That's so cute._ "I live here." She points to the building.

The blonde smiles at her. "Well then, I guess technologically speaking, I walked you home."

Santana furrows her brow in confusion for a moment then laughs when she realizes what the other girl was trying to say. "I think you mean technically, and yes, I guess you did."

"Isn't that what I said?" the blonde says again cocking her head to the side and serious look on her face.

Santana can't stop smiling as she shakes her head. "Anyway, thanks again for your help. You're like a superhero."

The blonde smiles and shakes her head as well. "Well, you take care. Maybe I'll see you around?"

"Yes, maybe." _Hopefully_. Santana starts her ascension up the stairs to her apartment when she realizes she never got the blonde's name. She turns back quickly but only sees blonde hair bouncing up and down as she jogs away down the street.

Once Santana is comfortably back in her apartment all changed and ready to relax for the rest of the evening, she lies in bed and thinks back to everything that happened just down the street from her building not more than 2 hours ago. What would she have done if that blonde had not shown up? What would have happened to her? She wouldn't be able to protect herself. How would she have been able to protect herself? She realized she had no idea what to do should an event like that happen again. She may not be so lucky to have someone save her.

Santana started getting scared and a little worried. She has become a real life 'damsel in distress,' and she did not want to be that. She needed to learn how to protect herself. She reached over to her night table and picked up her laptop. She searched up some self defense classes. There were 3 locations where they taught self defense classes but all of them only had mediocre reviews. She kept searching and found out there was a hour long women's self defense workshop being held at a martial arts studio just a few blocks away on the weekend. Santana looked up the studio and it has astounding reviews. The only few complaints it had were that they don't teach enough classes or that the participants wanted more hours. She read through some of the more positive reviews.

 _'Amazing! Very creative, very hard working, and very skilled instructors.'_

 _'I feel so empowered by their classes and workshops. I hope they have more.'_

 _'Wow! What a great workshop. These instructors know what they're doing! Highly recommended.'_

 _'Probably the best classes I have ever taken. The instructors are super serious in teaching and making sure you are learning how to protect yourself. A tough class but also very fun! Totally worth checking out.'_

Santana writes down the address and decides to check out this studio tomorrow morning. She puts her laptop back onto her nightstand and lies back down in bed. Staring at the ceiling she begins to daydream about the blonde. _Why didn't I ask her for her name? Her smile was so adorable. Did I seem ungrateful that she saved my frikin life? I hope I see her again so I can thank her again… and ask for her name, I gots to do that._ As she begins drifting off to sleep, she can't get the image of the blonde out of her head. It's not like she wanted to anyways, she was beautiful and her face was so comforting. Santana had a surprisingly good sleep considering what had happened earlier that day. She felt safe just picturing the blonde.

Santana's internal alarm wakes her up at 9:30am. She yawns and stretches before slowly setting her foot down onto the floor. She rotates her right ankle a couple of times to make sure it's not in too much pain. Surprisingly, it's not too bad. There's still a bit of discomfort, but it must have been the shock of running yesterday that caused her to limp. She takes her time washing up and throws on a robe. She walks into her kitchen to grab some breakfast when she realises she didn't get a chance to go grocery shopping. So it was Lucky Charms, again. She sighs and digs out as many marshmallows as she can. She takes her cereal to the couch with her and starts flipping through channels again, then it hits her. _The blonde._ K.O. Kandi is on and Santana sits and watches, patiently waiting for a fight scene to appear. After a few dialogue scenes and a few arguments and pushing, a fight scene starts up. There's that body double again. _Is that her? It sure looks like her, at least from the back and sometimes from the side._ The blonde does a double sweep knocking down a tall, lanky man. She does a flip and her leg lands right across his chest. _Damn, I wish I could fight like that._ Then Santana remembered the self defense workshop. She gets dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, a simple red t-shirt and a vest. She grabs the address off her nightstand, her cellphone and her purse, and throws on a pair of boots and is out the door.

She walks a few blocks to the martial arts studio. The Shark Tank Martial Arts Studio. _What an interesting name._ Santana looks in through the window. It's a small studio. It can probably fit about 20-25 students at a time comfortably. There is a small waiting area with about 10 chairs, and a reception desk off to the side with some certificates, plaques, and trophies behind it. The training area is covered in red mats. The wall is lined with punching and kicking pads. There are 3 punching bags hanging down in to the side and on the other wall there are boxing gloves lining the floor. There are skipping ropes and medicine balls on the other side of the punching bags and a giant mirror that fills up one whole wall. This place looks very organized and clean. There are no classes running right now. Only one guy smaller guy with brunette hair is using the punching bag. Santana feels a little bit intimidated and hesitates. The receptionist looks up from the table and sees Santana standing outside peeking in through the glass window. She makes eye contact with Santana and smiles. Looks like there's nowhere left for Santana go to go but inside. She slowly takes the door handle and pulls it open. The receptionist smiles at her. She has shoulder length blonde hair and is very pretty. She's wearing a tank top that says L.I.M.A. Ohio and on the bottom in smaller print it says Ladies Into Martial Arts. "Hi." The blonde greets her. "Welcome to The Shark Tank Martial Arts Studio, can I help you with anything? We don't have any classes until 11am."

"Hi. I just had some questions about taking a self defense workshop on the weekend?" Santana said timidly.

"Oh yes, absolutely. Let me see if we have any openings." The blonde types something into the keyboard and clicks around on the mouse. "I'm sorry. The workshop is currently full. We have another workshop next month if you're interested." Santana thinks for a moment. "Please take a look at our brochure for a list of our other classes such as kickboxing, karate, extensive cardio and body conditioning…" – RING – the office phone goes off. "Excuse me a moment, please take your time and look around and see if there is anything else that interests you." Santana looks around the studio and watches the man at the bag go at it with jabs and hooks. He seems angry. She goes back to looking at the brochure when the blonde hangs up. "It's your lucky day, mam," Santana looks up at her, "one of our regulars just called and can't make it to the workshop. The poor thing broke her nose when she was trying to do a dance number and got smacked in the face by accident. So, it looks like I have an opening for you if you're still interested."

"Yes!" Santana exclaims a little too excitedly causing the man stop punching and look up at her. "Sorry, yes, I would like to take that spot." She says a little quieter.

"Okay, great. The class is from 2 to 3pm but try to get here 15-20 minutes early so you can to change and set yourself up or ask any questions if you need to. Bring a water bottle, towel, comfortable runners and athletic clothing. Also, if I could just get your name and get you to fill out this form for me. It's just some contact and health information as well as a waiver at the bottom. Don't worry, the waiver is just for legal reasons, we have no intentions of hurting anyone in our classes, but shit happens you know?" The girl shrugs and hands Santana the form with a pen.

"Of course, not a problem at all, I understand. My name is Santana… Santana Lopez." She takes the pen and paper and starts filling out her information.

"Thank you very much, Santana. My name is Quinn by the way. I'm the cardio and conditioning instructor here."

"It's very nice to meet you, Quinn." Santana says looking up from the paper and handing it back to Quinn. "Is he going to be our instructor on the weekend?" Santana inquires looking over at the guy who is now sitting and resting against the wall drinking a bottle of water in one hand and fixing his hair with the other.

"Oh, no. He's not an instructor here. He's just a close friend of ours that drops in to use our punching bags once in a while. He likes to use them to release some steam. Your instructor this weekend is actually one of our most popular instructors. She doesn't come by as often now that she has another job, but when she does, almost everyone wants to take her class and they're booked up very quickly. Her name is Brittany."

 _Brittany, that's such a cute name for a martial arts instructor._ Santana raises her eyebrows and smiles. "That's great! My first class and I'm being taught by one of the best. Sounds like fun."

"She's a tough one. She will work you hard but you will learn so much from her. You will enjoy it for sure." Quinn tells her.

"Sounds great, I can't wait." Santana sticks out her hand to the other girl. "It was nice meeting you, Quinn, I'll see you on Saturday."

Quinn shakes her hand. "See you then."

Just before Santana exits the studio feeling nervous but excited to learn from one of the best, she takes out her phone to enter it into her calendar and set an alert for herself so she doesn't miss the class. Looking down at her phone and pushing the door open, she sees a tall, slim figure running to catch the open door in her peripheral. Keeping her head down, eyes on her phone, and trying to type with one hand, she holds the door open with her free hand. "Thanks!" The girl says a little out of breath and replaces her hand with Santana's.

"You're welcome," Santana mumbles, while still trying to enter the event into her phone as she keeps walking down the street back to her apartment.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: I want to thank everyone that commented on the last chapter and how it wasn't as awful as I thought it was. It's very encouraging and motivating. Let the story continue...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

Saturday

Santana feels excited and very motivated to go to her class today. She had a light lunch that consisted of a quinoa salad with grilled chicken breast and a berry smoothie. She got changed into black yoga pants and a dark blue racerback tank top. She grabs a bottle of water and a towel and throws it into a small sports bag. She grabs her wallet, keys, and cellphone and laces up her cross trainers before heading out the door.

She gets to The Shark Tank at 1:30pm and is the first one there. Quinn greets her as she reaches into her bag to pay her fee for the class. Quinn then shows her to the change room where she sets her bag in a locker and ties her hair up into a messy bun. When she's good to go she exits the change room and sees other participants starting to trickle in. She takes a seat on one of the chairs by the front door and just waits, giving nervous half smiles to some of the girls coming in. Most of these girls are coming in pairs or groups, or if not, they're coming in single but quickly begin chatting amongst the other members. She doesn't know anyone here, which makes her feel a little more intimidated and nervous.

"Hey, don't look so nervous. This is going to be fun."

Santana looks up and sees a tall, slim blond girl. She's a bit older than her, but she's very pretty and extremely toned.

"First time?" The girl sits down next to Santana.

Santana nods. "Yeah, I'm a little nervous but I'm looking forward to it the workshop."

"I've taken a few classes here and there and couple of workshops with Brittany. The instructors are great here."

A few more girls arrive and Santana feels like class should be starting soon. The studio is really filling up. "Yeah, I've read and heard a lot of good things about this place and their instructors, especially our instructor today." Santana says, looking around. Some girls are stretching, some are just chatting away excitedly, and Quinn is behind the desk talking to another tall blonde with her back facing Santana. Her hair is tied up in a high pony and she's wearing a black tank top with the words The Shark Tank Martial Arts written in red, and underneath it in white, INSTRUCTOR.

"That's Brittany, our instructor today." The other blonde informs Santana while they both looked at Brittany's back. "I don't know about you, but personally, I think she's totally hot… I mean, check out that ass."

At those words, Santana glances down at her instructor's ass. _Yup, that's a pretty nice ass._ But quickly turns to face the other girl with a raised eyebrow. _That's a little disrespectful to check out your instructor like that, isn't it?_

The other girl laughs, "Hey, just sayin'." She shrugs. "My name is Cassie by the way." She winks before she stands up and heads for the matted area of the room.

Santana watches Cassie walk away before turning her attention back Brittany. She's now very intrigued to see what she looks like. "5 minutes everyone!" Quinn yells out and all the women in the room begin to make their way to the red matted space in front of the mirrors. Santana jumps up and makes a quick trip to the bathroom before class starts.

When she's done and has washed her hands, Santana walks out and all the other ladies are now on the mat. She finds a spot at the back corner; just at the edge of the mat next to the reception desk. She looks around at all the girls and takes a deep breath when she hears a familiar voice.

"Good afternoon, everyone! Welcome to our hour long intensive women's only self defense workshop." Santana looks to the direction the voice is coming from and sees Brittany start to walk toward the mats from the desk, glancing at the class when they suddenly make eye contact. Santana's eyes widen when she sees that beautiful face again. "This class isn't going to be easy, but you WILL learn a lot and you will sweat and you will ache." Brittany and Santana don't break eye contact until Brittany winks and smiles at her. Santana quickly looks toward the front of the class hoping she wasn't caught staring too long and making things awkward. That wink just sent a butterfly through Santana's tummy. "If you have any questions I will be more than happy to answer them. If you have any previous injures – " Brittany looks directly at Santana, " – please be careful. You know your own body so don't hurt yourself, this isn't why we are here. We are here to learn to protect ourselves and to get in a bit of a work out while we are at it." Brittany is now in front of the class and all eyes are on her.

"Don't look so nervous, we're going to have fun." Santana turns her head quickly to see Quinn standing next to her. "This is such a great class so I'm joining in too. Have some fun, you don't have to look so serious," Quinn chuckles.

Santana smiles politely and nods, "I'll try."

"Alright everyone let's start with a few laps going counter-clockwise," everyone stands to wait for more instructions, "let's go!" Brittany claps once very loudly and everyone begins jogging in a circle.

Brittany stands in the middle and watches as the rest of the group run. "Okay everyone, face the inside of the circle and grape vine." After 3 minutes of jogging and skipping and grape vineing, Brittany tells everyone to find a spot so they can stretch out. Santana finds a spot and Cassie stands right next to her.

"Look at her. You see what I mean don't you? Yum!" Santana turns to look at Cassie with an uncomfortable look as she tries to pay attention to the stretching instructions. Cassie wiggles her eyebrows and goes back to stretching.

Santana can barely touch her toes, the tips of her fingers barely grazing the top of her foot. She looks forward and sees Brittany bend over easily putting her palms to the floor. _Wow._ Shaking her head she refocuses on the stretching. _You're here to learn, Santana. Not to leer._ A few more minutes of stretching and Brittany requests for everyone to group in closer.

"Alright. So, let's say we are being attacked or someone grabs you and won't let go. What is the first thing we want to do?" Brittany asks the class.

"Kick some ass!"

"Punch them in the face!"

"Grab, twist, and pull!" someone in the back yells out. The class laughs.

Brittany smiles, "yes and no. You want to bring attention to yourself. Make noise. Scream. Say 'back off' loudly. Try your best to push them off. It's better to try to get help if you can rather than trying to fight them off yourself." The class nods. "Now there are a few body parts that can inflict lots of pain without too much force, since it's highly likely that your attacker is much bigger than you." Brittany steps back and the crowd spreads out a little bit but all eyes are still on her. "Quinn? Please come here and be my example." Quinn steps up next to Brittany.

Brittany points out on Quinn's body all the sensitive spots that are used for self defense; eyes, nose, throat, groin, knees, and legs. "Now, let's spread out and make a little bit of room so we can do some techniques." Brittany tells the class. The class moves apart so everyone gets their own little space. Quinn returns and stands by Santana and Cassie. Cassie looks Quinn up and down and nods to herself. Quinn rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

Brittany shows the class the techniques and gets everyone to repeat it with her. For the next few minutes you hear girls shout, "back off!" and then they will either kick low, bring their knee up, or strike at head level. Cassie seems know exactly what she's doing. Her moves are very strong and clean. She has to have done this before.

"Very good, everyone!" Brittany shouts, "keep it up! Put some power behind those techniques, you are not swatting at flies." Brittany walks in and out through the crowd. Correcting techniques or answering questions. "Come on ladies! You're not even going to kick a hole through tissue paper like that, let's see some more effort." She continues walking around and passes by Santana, she smiles at her and nods. Santana's heart is beating fast already because of all the physical exertion, but it beats just a bit faster when she looks at Brittany.

Santana sees someone stumble in her peripheral vision and looks over. Cassie now looks awkward and clumsy, totally not in control of her body. _What the hell?_ Santana thinks to herself, _why is she – oh._ She sees Brittany walk up to Cassie to show her the techniques again. Cassie moves as close to Brittany as she can as if she has trouble hearing her. She kicks and falls over into Brittany, and Brittany quickly catches her. Cassie laughs and apologizes. Her eyes lingering on Brittany and her hand slowly slides down Brittany's arm.

"Thank you," Cassie says, "your reflexes are so quick and wow you're solid as a rock!"

"No problem," Brittany replies nonchalantly, "just keep practicing." She turns and walks away towards Quinn and whispers something into the shorter blonde's ear and then keeps walking through the class.

A few minutes later, Brittany stops the class, "okay everyone, listen up." The class turns their attention to their instructor. "Depending on the position of the attacker and how close they are will determine where you will strike. You also need to know of which part of your own body you will strike with. For example, you don't want to step closer to them to strike their nose with your hand when you can reach their knee with a kick." The class nods and Santana quickly flashes back to the day she was attacked and she saw Brittany use a swift kick to the knee and nods as well completely understanding. "Now, I'm going to show you what to do if an attacker grabs you from behind, Quinn?"

Quinn walks up to the front of the class and grabs Brittany from behind but it looks a little awkward because Brittany is quite a bit taller than the other girl. Brittany shows the class how she opens her arms like chicken wings, stepping to the side and dropping her body. "Now from here you can throw an elbow, hit the crotch, do what you need to do but get out of there as fast as you can. Run!" Brittany shows this example a few times. Then she shows a few techniques of grabbing their fingers and pulling them backwards easily and goes through those a few times as well. "Thanks, Quinn." Quinn goes back to her spot. "Okay, now I want everyone to get into pairs and try these techniques out, but PLEASE don't hurt each other. Do them slowly just to get your techniques correct. There should be 20 of you so everyone should get a partner." Cassie turns to Santana and is about to ask to be her partner when Quinn steps in.

"I'll be your partner. I'll be able to help you out and answer your questions," Quinn turns to tell Cassie. Apparently, Brittany told Quinn to partner up with Cassie in fear that her clumsiness might injure another participant and they don't need that on their record. Cassie looks Quinn over again, smirks and nods.

Santana looks around and notices everyone is partnered up but her. _This is kind of embarrassing._ Brittany walks up to her. "Don't you have a partner?" Brittany is looking around, counting the girls.

Quinn speaks up, "I joined in, Britt. I made it 21."

"Ooooh, we can't get 21 pairs then." All three other girls look at Brittany with confused looks on their faces. Brittany shrugs, "I'll be your partner then," and steps behind Santana and wraps her arms around her in a loose bear hug. Santana stands there. Suddenly feeling hot, her breath picks up just a bit and her heart is going crazy again. "Okay, you can try those moves now." Brittany's voice snaps Santana out of her daze. Santana seems to have forgotten everything she had just learned.

"Ummm…" Santana is starting to panic, feeling embarrassed.

"Here, I'll show you again. It's easy to forget the steps when you've never actually done it on a person." Brittany moves in front of Santana and steps back into the brunette. "Wrap your arms around me." Santana slowly lifts her arms and wraps them around Brittany extremely loosely. Brittany chuckles, "okay, a little tighter. You're making it too easy for me." Santana tightens her hold. Brittany counts out her steps and shows Santana a few times before going back behind Santana and wrapping her arms around the smaller brunette again.

Santana lifts her elbows out to the sides, steps to the left, and drops down before pretending to elbow Brittany in the stomach. "Very good," Brittany tells her. They do it a few more times, and then the move to the finger techniques. (Wanky). "Just wait here, I'll go make sure everyone else is doing it correctly and answer some questions. I'll be right back." Brittany says before she walks away. Santana suddenly feels colder without the blondes arms wrapped around her.

"What do you think of the class so far?" Santana snaps her gaze from Brittany to the sound of the voice and sees Quinn looking at her with a smile while bear hugging Cassie from behind.

"Oh it's great." Santana responds. "I'm learning so much." She's watching the others work on their techniques when all of a sudden she feels warm arms wrap around her again, pinning her arms down to her sides. The touch is gentle but firm as she gets pulled closer. Similar to the feeling she had in that dream that one time. She feels light breaths next to her ear as she turns her head slightly and makes eye contact with pink thin lips. Her breath hitches.

"I would have dragged you into my van by now," Brittany comments.

"Hm?" Santana is hypnotized by the feeling.

"If I was a big disgusting burly man attacking you, I would have totally just dragged you into my van," Brittany chuckles and lets go her.

Santana realizes what has happened and goes flush with embarrassment. "I'm sorry… I… y – you caught me off guard."

"That's what attackers do," Brittany laughs. "Let's try this a couple more times before we move on."

Santana and Brittany practice their moves a few more times until Santana feels comfortable with them. Brittany walks back to the front of the class.

"Okay everyone we have a few minutes left. Let's do some body conditioning before we stretch out and end class," Brittany tells everyone. "Let's start with 20 burpees, 20 push-ups – none of those girly push-ups please, real ones – and 50 sit ups. Let's see if everyone can finish in 3 minutes, time starts NOW!" Santana is trying her hardest to do everything before time runs out and looks up to see Brittany doing everything with ease. Soon after, Brittany stands up after finishing her last sit up barely breathing hard and watches while almost everyone else is huffing and puffing, especially Santana. Santana may have a banging body, but she's nowhere as fit as Brittany. Santana finishes just as time is called. She gives herself a mental pat on the back for completing it on time and not embarrassing herself any further.

Brittany has a few final words, "Thank you everyone for joining us today. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to talk to me or Quinn." She points to the back and everyone turns to look quickly at Quinn before turning their attention back to Brittany. The class applauds and thanks Brittany for a great class. She is swarmed by girls wanting to know more about her classes, where she got her training from, what other martial arts she does, and some just stand there to admire her.

Santana goes to the side to grab her water bottle and towel when she feels a presence behind her. "How did you like it?" Santana turns around and sees Quinn standing there smiling with a water bottle in her hand.

"Oh man, that was so much fun, you're right, Brittany is such a great instructor. Although, I really need to get in better shape though, the last 3 minutes almost killed me; I almost didn't finish on time."

Quinn laughs, "if you are interested in getting in shape, feel free to join in some of our classes. Memberships aren't too expensive or you can do drop in's if you have a busy schedule."

Santana nods, seriously considering joining, "I'll check out the brochure again, thank you."

Quinn smiles, "you take care, Santana, hope to see you again soon."

Santana looks up trying to find Brittany, when she notices she's talking to Cassie. Brittany is leaning against the side of the reception desk and Cassie is standing in front of her, extremely closely. They laugh and Cassie brings her hand up to stroke Brittany's bare bicep. Santana feels her heart sink just a little bit. _Jealously? No way._ She closes her eyes for a brief moment not wanting to watch anymore and turns towards the locker room to grab her stuff. She comes out and Cassie is still talking to Brittany, but now Brittany is standing behind the desk and Cassie is standing in front of it. _That's more like it._ Santana waves good-bye to Quinn and heads towards the door.

"Hey, wait!" Santana looks back and sees Brittany jog lightly towards her and turns her body completely to face her instructor. "No good-bye for me? I thought we were partners," Brittany says with the cutest pout ever.

"Oh, I'm sorry I – I thought – I didn't – you were talking and –" she trails off and looks up towards Cassie standing there with her arms crossed leaning against the desk watching them with a not so pleasant look on her face.

Brittany giggles, "did you enjoy the class?"

Santana turns back towards the blonde in front of her, "Yes, I loved it, you're a great teacher, and thanks… for being my partner," she tries to say without blushing _too_ hard.

"No worries, it was fun partnering up with you," Brittany's face goes serious for a moment, "how's your ankle?"

"My wha – oh! My ankle. Yes. It's okay. It's almost at 100%." Santana is surprised that Brittany had remembered her injury. Just then Santana hears a huff come from behind Brittany. She looks over Brittany's shoulder and she sees Cassie walking towards them with a sport bag slung over her left shoulder.

"Excuse me," Cassie utters, obviously annoyed. Brittany looks behind her and both girls move to the side to let Cassie through. Before she leaves, she turns to Brittany and smiles while grabbing her elbow firmly but seductively. "See you Monday night." She turns and gives Santana a quick glare and walks out the door.

Brittany smiles, "see ya!" she calls out before the door closes.

 _A date? Are they dating? Is that why Cassie was glaring at me?_

"That's great news about your ankle, by the way," Brittany says, snapping Santana out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh yes, it is, thank you."

"Well, I find it a little bit unfair that you know my name, but I don't know yours," Brittany says in a serious tone.

The brunette smiles, "Santana, my name is Santana."

Brittany smiles, "well, Santana, will I be seeing you on Monday night too?"

"Monday night? What's going on, on Monday night?" Santana asked confused.

Brittany looks over her shoulder, "Quinn!" Quinn looks up shocked at her name being called. "Quinn, apparently isn't very good at advertising my classes." Quinn gives an apologetic smile and mouths the word 'sorry'. She turns back to look at Santana, "I'm teaching an open kickboxing class Monday night at 6. We play some music, I show a few moves and techniques, and everyone just works out under my supervision." Brittany pauses for a moment, "please come?" she asks more seriously, "it's the last class I'll be teaching for a few weeks."

Santana immediately remembers what Quinn had told her on her initial visit about Brittany having another job elsewhere. She feels a little bit sad that she won't be around but smiles anyway and nods, "since you said please, yes, I'll be there."

Brittany does a little jump and claps her hands, "yay!"

They look into each other's eyes for just a few seconds. No one saying anything. Chocolate brown eyes looking deep into crystal blue ones. Santana takes in a deep breath and manages to say, "I'll see you Monday then."

Brittany smiles, "I'll see you then."

Santana smiles and exits the studio. She enjoyed the rest of her afternoon.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Thank you everybody for your support so far. I know it's a little frustrating that there hasn't been a whole lot of Brittana interaction but we will get there. I just want to introduce a few other characters first and then it will be majority Brittana interaction. Just bare with me and enjoy Santana's interaction with a few other characters. Hope you like this chapter. It's my longest so far.

Props to readers that have found my hidden characters. ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

Sitting on the couch wrapped up in a blanket, eating Chinese food, and watching _So You Think You Can Dance_ is what Santana likes to call her _quiet time._ She sets the container of tofu and shrimp fried rice down and sits back to relax when she hears a knock on the door. Santana groans, not wanting to get up. The person knocks again. Santana sighs and drags herself off the couch and opens the door a crack. She sees a short brunette, a few inches shorter than her, she has a nose that Santana thinks is too big for her face, and a dumb smile. The shorter girl pushes the door open and quickly goes to hug Santana. "Hi!"

 _Oh God, it's Rachel._ Eyes wide open and stunned, Santana stands there stiff as a board not even attempting to move her arms up to hug the girl back. "Ugh, get off me Berry," Santana grunts out.

The shorter brunette lets go and smiles, "You miss me?"

"No, not enough for you to come back," Santana replies.

The other girl reaches just outside the door to drag in a bright pink suitcase with a single gold start right in the middle of it. She leaves the suitcase in the middle of the living room right in front of the TV and plops down on the couch. Santana stands at the door with her arms across her chest. She stares at the girl on the couch and she stares back with a smile. Santana rolls her eyes and kicks the door closed. "Oooh, Chinese food!" Rachel exclaims and reaches for the fried rice and holds it up to her mouth. "Ew, shrimp," she says in disgust and puts it back down.

Santana makes her way over and stands right in front of the other girl and Rachel looks up at the annoyed Latina. "Why are you here, Troll? I thought you and porcelain were in New York living the Broadway dream – far, far away from me."

"Well, Kurt's boyfriend is visiting for a week and I thought it would be nice for me to come back and visit my old roommate."

"YOU'RE GONNA BE HERE FOR A WEEK?!" Santana shouted, exasperated.

Rachel flinched and covered her ears, "jeez, Santana calm down. I need to be able to hear the audience's applause when I go back to New York. Besides, trust me, you were not my first choice. Finn had just repainted his apartment and since we don't want the fumes affecting my lungs. I have this big performance to do at Madison Square Garden, I'm singing the national anthem thank you very much, they practically begged me, a future Broadway star, to sing for – " the girl stopped talking when she noticed Santana had stopped listening and her eyes were glazed over staring into space.

The silence breaks Santana out of her frozen state. Years of practice and Santana has perfected tuning her out and only complete and utter silence can snap her out of it. She turns her attention back to Rachel, waiting for her to get to the point before she loses it.

Rachel senses that Santana's wrath is approaching and quickly finishes her story, "I'm only staying with you until Monday."

"Fine, but you're sleeping on the couch and buying me breakfast, lunch, and dinner until you leave. If you're going to sleep on the couch and you're planning on using my coffee table for – for anything really, I suggest you clean it up," Santana states simply while walking away towards her room and pointing to the mess of Chinese food on the small table. "You know where the garbage is, and while you're there, you might as well throw away that God awful skirt."

Rachel sighs and starts to clean up the table so she can arrange her evening items that consist of her pink, princess alarm clock, a glass of hot (but not scalding) lemon water with honey, her agenda, and a checklist of all the stuff she needs to do for the next day. While she's cleaning, she mumbles a little too loud, "you WOULD want me to remove my skirt wouldn't you?"

Santana quickly opens her bedroom door, shocking Rachel, and replies in a loud intimidating voice, "don't flatter yourself midget, and if I hear anymore words from you tonight, I'm gonna go ape shit all over your sorry ass before you can sing to 3." Santana slams her door.

Rachel quickly and quietly cleans up and sets her own sheets onto the couch before preparing herself for bed.

In her room, Santana has just finished washing up and is getting ready for bed when she sees her phone flash with a message. She had turned her phone on silent when she was trying to enjoy her _quiet time_ that was effectively ruined by none other than the self-proclaimed superstar, Rachel Berry. She dials her voicemail and puts the phone to her ear.

 _Hi Santana, it's Mercedes. I've got a great audition lined up for you. It's for a movie called Hammer's Time. It's an action/drama about this thief, Brandon Hammer, who steals from all these houses and constantly gets away with it, until this girl, this vigilante, stops him before he can hurt this kid that sees him rob the house. Anyway, you'll find out more about the story when you get the part. You're auditioning for the part of the lawyer. It's at 4:30pm on Monday at the Performing Arts Theater. Don't be late this time, the director, Mr. Abrams, doesn't accept tarty actors. Good luck!_

Santana hangs up the phone, excited about this new gig. Then it hits her. _4:30?_ "No, no, no no," she picks up her phone and check the calendar, "shit!" She calls Mercedes back right away.

 _"Cedes' talent agency"_

"Mercedes, it's me. Is it possible to change the audition time to something earlier?"

 _"Sorry, Santana, it was the only slot available. A lot of people want to work with Mr. Abrams. You're lucky I even got you an audition, 4:30 was their last slot."_

Santana stays silent while she weighs both sides in her head, _up and coming director's new movie or beautiful blonde._ She knows which option she needs to take and sighs into the phone. "Okay, I'll be there." _If I get through it fast enough I can still make it to class at 6._

 _"Great, good luck, Santana. This is a good chance for you to get your foot in the door."_

"Yeah, you're right," Santana says with a lot less energy in her voice, "thanks again."

They hang up and Santana slumps into bed burying her face into her pillow. She reaches over and throws the blanket over her body and flips the top of the blanket right over her head and falls asleep.

Sunday passes by slowly. Rachel left for most of the day to go see Finn and left Santana some money for food since she promised her breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Santana ate a sandwich at home and then spent the rest of the day at the mall buying herself a new scarf and a few bottles of nail polish. She window shops until the mall is about to close and heads back home. Rachel still isn't home yet. _Thank God._ She watches a little bit of TV when she gets a phone call from Mercedes reminding her about her audition tomorrow. Santana hops off the couch and into her room to tell Mercedes about how Rachel just showed up at her apartment. Since Santana, Mercedes, and Rachel all went to high school together, they had some things to catch up on. She's lying in bed when she hears the front door open, "Santana?"

Santana quickly tells Mercedes that Rachel is home and that she's going to pretend she's asleep so she doesn't have to deal with her. They hang up and Santana pretends to be asleep when Rachel peeks into her room. Pretending to sleep makes Santana actually sleepy and eventually drifts off into her nightly slumber.

 _Santana is sitting on her couch eating fried rice. There's a knock on the door. She gets up off the couch and opens the door and to her surprise Brittany is standing at her door wearing her Shark Tank tank top and a pair of spandex shorts, her legs going on forever. Brittany steps into her home without saying anything and Santana takes a step back, confused. The lights flicker out and suddenly the room is filled with dim lighting – as if there were candles around because she can see flickers like candle flames, but there weren't any real candles around. Brittany gently puts one hand on Santana's shoulder and pushes her hair back with the other, exposing her neck. Santana quickly feels a heat rise in her body, "Brittany, what are you – "_

 _"Shhh..."_

 _Brittany slowly leans in and ever so lightly presses her lips against Santana's neck. Santana shivers slightly in pleasure as she slowly lifts her arms up and wraps them around the taller blonde's back. Brittany pushes up closer against Santana and she can feel both of their breathing picking up as their chest pushes against each other with every breath. There's a song playing in the background._

 ** _Two strangers learn to fall in love again, I get the joy of rediscovering you, Oh girl, you stand by me…_**

 _Santana closes her eyes and feels a light breath against her lips, then, a kiss. The kiss heats up quickly and passionately. Brittany's hand slides down from her shoulder, down her chest, to her abs, and lingers at the waistband of Santana's shorts._

 _Santana is becoming aroused very quickly, the kissing is hot and heavy now, and she feels herself getting wet. She feels fingertips slowly slide downwards..._

 ** _Whooa, oh-oh-ooh, whooa, oh-oh-ooh, oh. Whooa, oh-oh-ooh, whooa, oh-oh-ooh, oh. Faithfuuullllyyyy…_**

The singing is loud and it shocks Santana. Her eyes open and she's in bed, her lips against her pillow, and the blanket between her legs. _No!_ Santana's closes her eyes and tries to go back into her dreams, but all she hears is…

 **I'm still yours… I'm still YOOOUUURRRRRRRRSSSSSS**

She opens her eyes, her browns furrowed, she's horny, she's wet, and she's pissed off. She closes her eyes tightly and slides her hand into her panties to relieve some of the built up tension, trying to imagine everything that was happening in her dream again. She slides through her own folds and damn, she's so wet. She slides through a couple more times to wet her fingers and…

 **I'm still YOUURRRRRRSSSS… I'M STILL YOURRR…RRRSSSSS…**

Santana's stops. Her blood is boiling. No way she can masturbate with Berry screeching away in the shower. She pulls her hand out of her pants and rolls out of bed. "Fuck, Berry, shut the fuck up!" She walks quickly to the bathroom door and bangs on it. "Shut the fuck up. Shut up. Shut up!" Then there's silence. Nothing but the sound of water running. Santana heads back to her room, her breasts are literally aching with rage. She picks up her phone to look at the time. 6:42am. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" She crawls back into bed and throws the blanket over her face in attempt to sleep for another 3 hours.

Santana wakes up to silence. She looks at the time. 11:21am. Taking a deep breath in and then out, she flips the blanket off of her and gets out of bed. She walks out and straight into the bathroom. She starts a shower and does a quick wash and brush. When she's finished, she walks out into her living room. _You._ Her eyes narrow at the sight of Rachel leaning against the arm of her couch reading some sort of Broadway magazine.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Rachel turns around. Her eyes widen at the sight of Santana staring at her. She can practically feel the daggers hit her in the face. She gulps and slowly lowers her magazine, "Santana, I'm sor –"

"Who the FUCK do you think you are? First you come into my home without me even inviting you. Then you decide to live here for the weekend without even so much as asking –"

" but Santana I –"

"Shut up, I'm not finished. I'm nice enough to let you sleep on my couch even though I wasn't finished channel surfing. You know why? Because I'm a nice person now, but now I realize why I wasn't so nice to you before. It's because of things like THIS, people like YOU! Who does that? Who wakes up at 6 in the morning and starts singing on the top of their lungs? – "

"Kurt – "

"Last chance, Hobbit. You interrupt me one more time and you're out of here and back into Wimpy's apartment sniffing paint fumes." Rachel nods. "I don't want to hear from you. Not when you drink or eat or even when you move, so you better move slow. I'm leaving at 3:30 and when I get back tonight, you better be either meditating or watching TV on mute because if I hear you at all again today, I WILL go ALL Lima Heights on you!" Santana looks straight into Rachel's eyes. Rachel's eyes are wide and she doesn't blink. She doesn't move. She just nods. Santana turns to go back to her room but not before saying, "It's noon and I want lunch in 20 minutes," she goes back into her room to change and apply her make up in preparation for her audition.

Rachel made Santana a chef salad with ham, turkey, egg, and shredded cheddar cheese. She tried not to laugh when she caught Rachel slowly putting down the plate so it didn't make any noise and slowly tiptoed her way back to the couch trying her best to read her magazine without the pages making any noise. Santana grabbed a couple of magazines and flipped through them as she ate, making as much noise as she possibly could. She even grabs the paper and starts the crossword puzzle. She looks at the time and figures if she leaves now she'll have time to grab a Starbucks before her audition. She heads to the door and before she leaves she puts her index finger to her lips, "shhhh…" she shushes at Rachel before closing the door.

She arrives at the Performing Arts Theater at 4:10pm, and signs in at a little table with a piece of paper taped onto it with the word "HTAud" printed in bold on it. She tells the lady behind the table her slot is at 4:30 and is asked to take a seat. She scrolls through her phone; reads a few tweets, and goes through her Instagram. She looks at the time and it's 4:45. _Come on, what's taking so long?_ She's starting to feel frustrated when the door opens and a young man with curly hair walks out with a big smile.

"Santana Lopez?" she looks up at the woman behind the table. The lady nods, "go on in."

Quickly Santana stands up and heads in through the doors. She's greeted by a red headed lady, a curly haired man, and in between them is a slim young man with glasses which she assumes is the director, Mr. Abrams, and hands him her headshot and resume.

Time passes quickly. Santana reads a few lines and walking around the room acting like a confident lawyer apparently trying to defend a young woman from being jailed for robbery. She is told she may have to do some physical activities such as running, climbing, maybe even shooting a gun. Santana nods confidently at all of them. Even if she doesn't know how to shoot a gun she will learn AFTER she gets the part. The most important thing right now is to actually get the part.

"Thank you very much, Santana. Lovely job!" The lady with the red hair tells her with a nod. The other two men nod as well. "We'll let you know in a couple of days if you got the part."

Santana thanks them and heads out the door, she feels good about her audition and she feels like the curly haired man especially liked her. She takes out her phone and looks at the time. _Shit!_ It's 5:50pm. No time to go home, luckily she threw a t-shirt, a pair of shorts, and runners into her bag before she left. She books it out of the theater and runs down the street to hail a cab. She gets in and asks the driver to get to The Shark Tank Martial Arts Studio as fast as possible. It's rush hour so traffic is a little bit slow. Once they get to the front of the studio, she hands the driver some money, not bothering to wait for her change. She just tipped him $7.

She rushes into the studio, music is blaring and people are in full work out mode. She glances at the clock hanging behind the desk. _Fuck._ It's now 6:15. She goes up to the desk and a large man turns around. "Oh, hi there. Welcome to the – Santana?"

"Finn? What are you – no never mind that now, I need to be in this class."

"Sorry, Santana, there's a strict policy here that you can't join the class if you arrive more than 10 minutes late. It risks interrupting the flow of the class."

"What the fuck, Finn? No one has to know. Come on, your girlfriend is staying at my place and you can't let me into class because I'm 5 minutes passed the time limit?"

"Sorry, I can't… well," he looks at the clock on the computer, "you're actually 7 minutes pass now."

"That's from all the talking! Argh, you are so frustrating!" She glances over and sees Brittany teaching a few girls how to properly punch the punching bag. She also sees Cassie staring at her ass.

"Sorry. Come back tomorrow, we have –" Finn picks up a brochure and slowly looks through it, " – ah, here, we have advanced karate."

Santana looks at him with a very unimpressed look on her face. She looks back over and tries to get Brittany's attention but there are way too many people trying to do the same thing. She does, however, catch the attention of Cassie. Cassie looks her right in the eye and smirks before making her way over to Brittany and asks her a question apparently about stretching or maybe an injury because she quickly bends over and asks Brittany to feel her hamstring. Santana rolls her eyes and turns back and glares at Finn. "You're on my list, Lumps, and I have just set my rage target onto your girlfriend. Good luck dealing with THAT later on tonight." Finn just stares at her blankly. She leaves the studio with burning rage.

When Santana gets home, Rachel is in the shower and she noticed that she has everything packed up and ready to go. Pissed off at Finn, Santana opens Rachel's suit cases and rummages through it. Pants, skirts, shirts, underwear, everything she's just tossing and unfolding everything until she sees Rachel's passport. "tsk tsk, now that's not safe Rachel. It needs to be put in a safer spot." She unzips the lining of her suit case and throws it in there before zipping it back up. She looks over at the coffee table and sees Rachel's wallet. Santana opens it up and sees $55 in cash, so she takes it and slips it into her pocket. "That's for the taxi ride, you can thank Finn for that."

Rachel comes out of the bathroom and gasps at the sight of her clothing everywhere. Santana looks up from the couch and sticks her hand up toward Rachel. "Shush hobbit, it hasn't been 24 hours yet and I'm still pissed at you. Not only you either. Your Franken-midtwenties of a boyfriend has pushed me passed the point of anger. I even told him I would take it out on you, and he didn't say anything. What a guy, eh? He's suck a keeper. So, if you have anything to say about this, you can take it up with him." She gets up off the couch, "oh, and I took a cab all the way from my audition to the studio when your half-a-brain-honey wouldn't let me in, so I got my cab money back, plus interest, in the form of cash." She looks down at Rachel's wallet then back up at Rachel, "thanks!"

"You went to Shar–"

"You DID NOT just speak to me, did you?"

Rachel tucks her lips into her mouth, eyes wide, and shakes her head.

"I didn't think so," Santana says and walks toward her room, "and clean up the mess you made in the living room before you leave. She goes into her room and closes the door.

Santana washes up and changes into her sweats and t-shirt and is brushing her hair when there's a knock on her bedroom door. She goes to open it and Rachel is standing there with her suit case waving to her.

"Are you leaving?"

Rachel nods.

"Okay, you know where the door is. Tell your boyfriend I said thanks for the cab ride home and thanks for making me miss my class."

Rachel furrows her brows and shakes her head. She takes a deep breath and walks away, rolling her suitcase behind her. Santana hears the door close and goes out to lock it. She walks back to her room just as her phone starts to vibrate. She looks at it and the caller ID says Pierce. _Who's Pierce?_

"Hello?"

 _"Hi, Santana?"_

Santana doesn't quite recognize the voice on the other line. "Yes, who is this?"

 _"It's Brittany – um – your self defense instructor from Shark Tank..."_

Santana's heart leaps. "Yes, I know who you are Brittany. Um – what's up?"

 _"Why did you leave?"_

"I – what? I left where?"

" _The studio. I heard a voice at the desk but when I looked up I just saw you turn away and head out the door_ ," Brittany sounded shy and unsure of herself, _"I thought you wanted to join my last class."_

"I did, Britt!" _Britt? Oops, I didn't mean to shorten her name like that. Well, too late now._ "I did want to join but I was late and the dunce at the front desk said I wasn't allowed to."

Brittany was silent for a few seconds. _Shit, did I piss her off when I called her Britt? I mean, I don't like my name being shortened either._ " _But today is an open drop in class_ ," Brittany stated, " _anyone can come in at any time as long as you pay for the full class. I don't have any problems with it. The new guy must not have known that."_

"Fuckin' Finnocence," Santana says under her breath.

 _"Is that his last name? Is he Irish? Finn O'sense?"_

Santana can't help but laugh, "No, Brittany. His name is Finn Hudson, I went to high school with him. That's just a nickname I created for him because he can be so stupid sometimes."

" _Aw, Santana. Don't call him stupid, he just didn't know_."

Hearing Brittany's voice go soft like that made Santana feel a little bad about what she said. "Sorry, I just really wanted to attend your class since you won't be back for a while."

" _Well, I'm teaching another class in 3 weeks, It's a kickboxing class. Um – if you don't have gloves I can lend you a pair of my own, I have like 4 pairs."_

 _I won't be able to see her for 3 weeks?_ Santana sighs _. I guess it's better than nothing_. "Yeah sure, just let me know what day and time and I'll do my best to make it."

" _Sounds good! I'll call you when I know the schedule_ ," Brittany's voice sounds happier.

Santana thought for a second, then became curious, "Brittany, how did you get my number?"

The other line goes silent.

"Brittany?"

" _I – um – Quinn – um – what was your question?"_

Santana chuckles into the phone, "I'll just assume Quinn gave it to you or you got it off the computer at the studio."

" _YES!_ " Brittany says so loudly it made Santana jump. " _I mean, yes. That's exactly it."_

Santana just laughs again, "Okay, so I guess I'll be expecting another call from you again soon? Miss Pierce?" Santana can feel Brittany smiling on the other line.

" _Absolutely_ ," Brittany says, then adds, " _have a goodnight, Santana, bye."_

"Goodnight, Britt."

She hangs up the phone and quickly saves the new number into her contact list. Snuggling into bed, she feels the anger from this evening dissolve quickly into her sheets and pillow. 3 weeks is a long time to wait, but Santana is more than happy to wait that long to see the beautiful blonde again. Just the thought of her warms her body and she ends up falling asleep quickly..


	7. Chapter 7

AN: I'm so glad everyone is liking this story so far. I was a little worried that it wasn't going to catch on.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

 ** _…Trying to forgive you for abandoning me  
Praying but I think I'm still and angel away.  
Angel away, yeah, strange in a way  
Maybe that is why I chase strangers away…_**

Santana feels around her bed for her phone. She's finally able to get a hold of it. She tries to clear her throat before answering the phone, "Hello?" Apparently, clearing her throat didn't work, she still sounded like she's be stranded in a desert for a week.

 _"Good Morning, Miss Lopez. My name is William Shuester. I work with Mr. Abrams on Hammer's Time. We really liked your audition and we were hoping to see you again for another run through of the script."_

Santana's eyes popped open and she was suddenly fully awake, "yes, thank you, absolutely."

 _"Great! We will start shooting on Friday, so if you can come in tomorrow for the run through, that would be great. Performing Arts Theater at 10am?"_

"That works fine for me. Thank you, Mr. Shuester!"

 _"Please, just call me Will."_

"Thank you, Will. See you tomorrow."

 _"See you then, Santana."_

Feeling excited, Santana makes a call.

 _"Cedes' Talent Agency."_

"Mercedes! It's Santana! Guess who just got a call back?"

 _"Well, I'm assuming you wouldn't be this excited if it wasn't you, so I think it's safe to say, Congratulations!"_

"Yes! Thank you!" Santana can't help but bounce up and down on her bed.

 _"Well girl, I think it's time we get some drinks tonight to celebrate! I'm off at 4pm, let's meet at Breadstix at 5?"_

"Perfect! See you then."

Mercedes and Santana have known each other since high school but didn't really start getting along until after they graduated and Mercedes found out that Santana wanted to work in the entertainment industry. She knew Santana had a great voice because they were in the choir together, but had no idea the girl could act. She could have guessed it though, the girl acted like a bitch throughout high school, but she had good reason to. Santana had a tough time in high school trying to hide her sexuality, so she had to act like a bitch to keep people from teasing her or getting too close to her. Mercedes found out that Santana was a lesbian when they were at a party together after she landed her first acting gig a couple years ago and caught her staring at another girl. Mercedes straight up asked her and at first Santana got mad and offended. She tried her best to defend herself by telling Mercedes she was nosey and that she should stay out of other people's business, but after she calmed down, she admitted to Mercedes that she knew sophomore year that she was attracted to girls. Mercedes has always been supportive of her and even helped in giving her the courage to come out to her parents.

Her parents didn't mind. In fact, her parents didn't care much at all. They were too busy with work and were satisfied as long as Santana was happy, alive, and passionate about something. This was good enough for Santana.

* * *

5pm at Breadstix.

Santana is sitting in a booth with a crantini wearing a low cut 3/4 length grey and red shirt with skinny jeans and black pumps when Mercedes arrives in a purple t-shirt, leather jacket, and jeans. Mercedes opens her arms and Santana gets up from her seat to hug her. They sit back down and Mercedes orders herself a Bloody Mary; extra spicy. They begin to catch up with their lives that don't revolve around work.

"So, other than that wonderful 'damsel in distress' role you had last month and this upcoming call back, what else has been going on with you, gurl?" Mercedes starts off.

"Not much," Santana said, "other than the male lead – what's his name – what's his – oh! I remember because I like to refer to him as 'No Way Fuckerman.' Noah Puckerman, he was so trying to get it on with me. At first he was really nice and helped me when I sprained my ankle that time, remember?" Mercedes nods and Santana continues, "he came over once, brought pizza, watched TV, and I really thought we could be friends. But the next time we were on set together he got gross."

Mercedes leans forward against the table, eyes wide with anticipation, "go on."

"The scene called for him to catch up to me after I've fallen and for him to strangle me to death, but then – ugh – I felt something." Santana shudders at the thought.

Mercedes looks confused, "felt something? Like you felt something for him?"

Santana laughs, "No, I felt something when he leaned in to whisper to me, I felt something against my stomach."

Mercedes laughs loud, loud enough that some other customers eating their pasta at other tables turn to look at them. She ducks her head down, "Sorry. That's hilarious! I'm not surprised though, you're hot! If I wasn't straight I'd try to make this a date with you. Seriously, he was on top of you, straddling you, and you were what, probably moving around trying to get away from him right?" Santana's lips turn downward and she nods. "Exactly! A hot piece of ass wiggling underneath a guy who probably hasn't gotten any for a while, I could totally understand."

"Ugh, you don't want to know what he did next though," Santana rolls her eyes and leans back into her seat some more with the most disgusted look on her face.

"Well, now that you mention it, I DO want to know," Mercedes says with eagerness.

"After the director called 'cut' he went to the washroom to … relieve himself." Santana shudders again and covers her eyes with her palms.

"OHMYGOODGRACES!" Mercedes says again a little too loud and covers her mouth trying to stifle her laugh.

"Stop it, Mercedes, it's so gross, I'm so glad I don't have to work with him anymore."

"Aw come on Santana, you used to like the D, it's not that gross."

Santana chuckles, "I used to think I liked the D. Except I didn't really and I just did what I did because I thought it was supposed and – I guess – it kinda felt nice if I wasn't looking directly at their faces."

Mercedes just shakes her head and changes the topic to something a little more tasteful, "So, any new ladies in your life?" Santana feels a blush rushing to her face and tries to hide it. It takes too long for her to answer and Mercedes knows what's up. "There is isn't there?"

Santana shrugs, "No, I don't know, no, not yet. It's nothing."

"What do you mean it's nothing?" Mercedes says as she looks into Santana's eyes trying to read them, "You're blushing for a reason, do you like someone?"

"Maybe," Santana replies. "I don't know. I've only spoken with her a couple of times, I don't even know if she plays for my team anyways. I mean, she's super nice, but she's super nice to everyone."

"How did you meet?"

"Wow, isn't _that_ a story. Well, long story short, I was getting mugged and – "

Mercedes interrupts her, "WHAT? You were mugged? Are you okay? Did they catch the guy? Why didn't you tell me?"

Santana shrugged, "it didn't seem like something I wanted to tell people." Mercedes nods. "Anyways, this girl, she saved me. Everything moved so fast and it was kind of a blur, but she saved me, Mercedes. She kicked his ass and whispered something to him and he literally crawled away."

"Wow," Mercedes whispered, "she's your hero, your real life superhero."

"Yeah," Santana smiles at the thought, "I wasn't able to get her name or anything because I was a little bit in shock." Mercedes slumps down in her seat with a defeated look on her face, "but!" Santana continues, "because of all that had happened, I decided to take a self defense workshop and guess who my instructor was?"

"If it isn't this girl, I don't care."

Santana laughs, "Yes, it was. Anyway, skipping the story to today, I have her number now because she called me last night and I'm going to try to attend another one of her classes in 3 weeks."

"3 weeks? That's a long time, girl."

"I know, but she doesn't teach all the time. Besides, I don't know if she's even interested. There's this other girl that's always hitting on her, and this other girl is like, really pretty. But she doesn't seem interested at all, so maybe she just wants to be friends or something," Santana says with a slight pout.

"Well, you never know, let's just see where this goes. I'm excited for you though."

"Thanks! I am too!"

The girls continue talking for a couple of hours catching up with one another. When they notice the restaurant is about to close, they call it a night and Santana promises to update Mercedes on the call back as well as this mystery girl. Santana refused to tell Mercedes her name until she knew for sure what was going on in fear of jinxing everything.

* * *

Santana breezes through her call back as if the part was made for her. In fact, she thinks that they changed the script and the character just a little to suit her better. She was called a couple of hours later and was told she got the part and that a script was to be couriered to her that evening. She called Mercedes to share her good news. Mercedes was super excited for her and wished her luck on her first day on set on Friday.

When the script arrived in the early evening, she got so excited. She has never received a script like this before. She never had more than a few short lines, but this, this was a huge part for her. She stayed up late to read through and remember her lines. She had an image in her head of how her character would act and speak. She was so anxious and excited that she spent the entire day after doing the exact same thing. She ran through her lines while pacing back and forth in her living room pretending to speak to the plaintiff and to the judge. She pointed at the couch and spoke with confidence and assertiveness. She furrowed her brows and scrunched up her face only to speak up louder while reading the script in her hand and pointing up into the air. She would close her eyes and try to remember her lines, and get really upset at herself if she forgot it. She practiced all day until it was perfect. She even missed lunch and didn't realize it until she felt super hungry around 8pm.

After dinner, she washed up and sat in bed just running through her lines again. She had to sleep a little earlier today because she had to be on set at 7 in the morning and there was no way she was going to be on set for the first time and have bags under her eyes. It was a big day for her.

* * *

Friday morning arrived quickly and was one of the few times she had woken up completely awake and ready to attack the day. Normally, she would wake up super groggy and cranky until she had her coffee, but even then, it's best to give her a few hours to fully come around and enjoy her day. She decided to take her car today and she stopped by the local coffee shop, The Lima Bean, to pick up her regular order; dark roast, black.

She made her way onto to the set with time to spare. Only Mr. Abrams and his assistants, Mr. Shuester and the red headed lady were there. A few crew members were working on the set and some were working on lighting.

"Santana!" The curly haired man waved her over.

"Mr. Shue – I mean, Will! Hi," Santana picked up her pace and walked towards him.

"Hi there, Santana," the younger man in a wheel chair, with glasses, greeted her.

"Good morning, Mr. Abrams. Thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to work with you."

"Please, call me Artie, everyone here does. I like everyone to be comfortable with me and not think of me as some crazy, stuck up, director," he says as he lifts his hand up for hers.

Santana shakes his hand, "Artie," she repeats.

"The rest of the cast will be here soon, please help yourself to some coffee and scones on the back table and prepare for scene 16, that's your scene we're shooting today. You can sit in the back and watch the other scenes or you can chill in the dressing room, it's more quiet."

Santana nods and walks to the back to sit on some chairs before taking out her script and looking over the scene. She's too nervous to eat. Suddenly, someone sits down on the chair next to her. Santana looks up; it's the red headed girl. She's quite a bit older than Santana, has a cute doll face smile and big eyes. She's wearing a very conservative skirt, a teal v-neck t-shirt, and a silk scarf. Santana smiles at her, as the other lady speaks, "Congratulations on the part, Santana. I knew you were perfect for the part as soon as you walked in. You just had that confident, lawyer'ish look to you. I'm Emma."

"Thanks, Emma," Santana said with a smile. Then the silence got a little awkward.

"Good luck today, the rest of the cast members should be showing up soon," Emma pats Santana's knee and gets up to walk back towards Will and Artie.

Santana is focused on reading her script when she starts hearing more voices and laughter coming from across the studio. She looks up and sees 3 people coming in through the doors. At first glance, she sees a blonde guy, a blonde girl, and an Asian guy. She looks back down at her script. _Wait._ She looks back up. _It's Brittany!_ Santana gets excited and nervous but decides to get off her chair anyways, but when she notices that Brittany has her arm linked through the Asian guy's arm she sat herself back down. All three of them are chatting away and laughing. They walk towards Artie and Will and just chat. Will points towards Santana and they all turn to look at her. Santana's eyes widen and she's so shocked she forgets to smile. Brittany's mouth opens wide and she lets go of the Asian man's arm and runs toward Santana.

"Oh my gosh! Hi Santana!" Brittany says with the two boys trailing behind her.

Santana stands up not knowing if they were supposed to hug or shake hands, but she doesn't want to embarrass herself so she just gives a small wave with a big smile. "Brittany, hi! I didn't know you – so this is the other job Quinn was talking about." Brittany continues to smile, then nods.

"Santana!"

Brittany turns around and Santana looks passed Brittany. "Oh my god, is that – wow look at you! How are you Trouts?"

The blonde guy stands next to Brittany. He rolls his eyes and shrugs, "I'm good. This is our friend and co-worker slash stunt man, Mike."

Mike, standing on the other side of Brittany lifts his hand up and Santana shakes it.

"You know Sam?" Brittany asks.

"Yeah, we met in school, acting school. We had class together for about two years," Santana replies.

"Yeah, we dated for a bit but it didn't work out," Sam added but Santana shot him a look with wide eyes and Sam continued, "we're cool though, it wasn't like we dated for long anyways. We're better off as friends."

"Friends that haven't spoken to each other since graduation," Santana chuckled.

Brittany looks between the two of them curiously, then asks, "You called him something that wasn't his name. What did it mean?"

Santana looks up and thinks about what she said then realizes and laughs, "oh, Trouts? That was a nickname I gave him when we first met because I thought the name Sam was kind of boring and his big trouty mouth was the only way I could distinguish him in the class."

"A nickname I didn't really like by the way," Sam continues.

Santana rolls her eyes and shrugs.

"Mike! Brittany! Wardrobe!" They both turn their heads towards another set of doors and there's an Asian girl standing there with her hand on her hips. Mike begins to walk back towards the dressing room and Brittany just stands there and looks at Santana, smiling.

"Brittany!" the girl calls out again which seems to snap Brittany's attention back to the dressing room.

She grabs Santana's arm lightly and doesn't take her eyes off her chocolate ones, "we'll talk later?"

Santana, still looking at the hypnotic blue eyes, nods, "yeah, for sure. You better go, the wardrobe girl looks impatient."

Brittany gives a big toothy grin and runs to catch up with Mike. She sneaks up behind him and pushes him forward. He takes a few stumbling steps forward and then pushes her back sideways and she stumbles as well. She punches him in the arm and runs away, he follows and tries to catch her until they both reach the room and the door closes.

Once she can't see the blonde again she looks back over to Sam who is eyeing her curiously. Santana sits back down and Sam sits next to her.

Sam and Santana met the second week of acting class. Santana was there first and Sam joined after the first week. He was cute, friendly, and Santana thought maybe she was just bisexual. When Sam was in acting school, he was working as a stripper on Friday nights and weekends in the next town over to pay for his classes. He wasn't the brightest student and he barely graduated high school. He figured since he has always impressed people with his impressions that he could be an actor. However, his family couldn't afford to help pay for his classes so he started working out and took his abs onto stage with him. It paid well, and once he graduated from acting school and fully paid for his tuition, he stopped stripping. He ended up getting a single modelling gig that gave him enough money to last him at least half a year before he got his first acting job. He gets small parts here and there, enough to make a living, but no huge roles yet.

Santana never told Sam she was a lesbian, she never needed to and the topic never came up. They only dated for a few weeks. Sam was super sweet and was the perfect boyfriend but Santana didn't feel anything for him. He would do little things that pissed her off even though she had no reason to get mad. He would try to joke around with her but she would just roll her eyes at him. She found herself not enjoying holding hands or cuddling with him, and discovered that she would rather girl watch than talk to Sam. They almost had sex once, but Santana pulled back because she didn't want him getting too attached; they broke up soon after. They spent the rest of their time in school being civil with each other but tried their best to stay away from each other's bubbles.

"Who are you? - I mean like, which character are you?" Sam turns and asks Santana.

She turns her head as well, "I'm the lawyer, you?"

"The cop. I'm not shooting today though. I'm just here to check out the scene and the layout. I'm leaving after they shoot the fence scene."

"Fence scene?"

"Yeah, Mike and Brittany are going to crash through a fence together."

Santana hesitates, "Mike and Brittany, are they –"

Sam quickly understands what Santana was trying to say, " – dating? No man, they're not together. They're just really good friends, they shoot a lot of scenes together." Sam continues to study Santana's face when she suddenly looked relieved, so he continues, "…but Mike is taken."

Santana nods and she realizes that Sam still doesn't know about her and that he probably thinks she was interested in Mike, "I see," is all Santana can say.

"Sorry," Sam says. "A lot of actresses are drawn toward him. He's the silent type that speaks more with his body than his words.

"Sounds like you're drawn to him too," Santana laughs.

"Nah," Sam laughs and shakes his head, "I don't bend that way." He narrows his eyes in thought, "but Brittany – " he trails off.

"But Brittany, what?" Santana's eyes are wide and she straightens her back, all of a sudden more interested in this conversation.

"I'm not sure," Sam answers. "I worked with her before and we're great friends and we have a great time together but no matter what I do, she doesn't seem to take an interest in me. I've asked her out a few times but she always brings a friend along, usually Mike and Tina. Tina is Mike's girlfriend by the way, the girl in wardrobe. So then, I think it's a double date but she never seems to want to hang out with me just one on one and when we do, she just acts like a buddy to me."

"Maybe it's your lips or your stupid impressions."

"Nah, she's told me that she thinks my lips looked like soft pillows one time and she loves my impressions. She's usually the only one who laughs when the four of us are out together. One time I tried to kiss her when I dropped her off at home and she pushed me away. She was nice about it though." Sam Shrugged.

"Hey, not everyone can be into you right?" Santana looks at him with a cocked eyebrow and a half smile, as if trying to tell him that she wasn't that interested in him either.

"Yeah, I guess," then he lifts up the front of his shirt exposing his super tight abs, "but look at this body! She's totally seen this body during our beach gatherings and nothing; she's probably gay or something."

Santana just laughs, but under that laugh, she has hope. "Please put your shirt down, you're distracting the extras."

Sam follows Santana's eyes and sees 2 young girls staring with their mouths wide open. He slowly brings his shirt back down.

"Quiet on the set!"

Sam and Santana turn their attention to the front. The lights fade out slightly and there is a patch of lawn, not very big and in the background it looks like a house. To them, it's obvious it's not a house, it's just a section of a house; where you can see the front door with a single step and a large window to it's right. A few shrubs under the window and a walkway leading up to the door. There is a little boy standing by the shrubs.

"Action!"

Mike is standing with his back towards the camera and his hand above the boy's head as if he was about to hit him. All of a sudden coming in from the left side Brittany runs in and tackles Mike from the side knocking him to the ground.

"Cut! One more time. Mike, move your hand to the right a little bit more so the light from the window can cast somewhat of a shadow so we can see exactly what you are doing. Brittany, jump in from a bit further back to tackle him.

Both Mike and Brittany stand up and nod and they take their places again.

"Take 2, Action!"

Again, Mike has his hand raised above the boy's head and Brittany comes running in and jumps and tackles mike onto the floor.

Santana covers her mouth because it looked painful as hell. They do this take about 4 more times. Santana winces every time Mike gets tackled.

"Cut! Good. Moving on." The lights are turned on completely again for set up.

Both Mike and Brittany get up again and set up for the next scene. They both have a sip of water while they set up the fence. The fence looks light, one crew member was able to carry it in himself. They bolt the main supports of the fence to the ground. The lights dim again.

"Quiet on the set!" Mike and Brittany are standing now and Mike is holding onto Brittany's jacket with both hands.

"Action!"

They are struggling. Brittany hooks her right arm over Mike's left that is currently grabbing onto her jacket, she swings her elbow up and he snaps his head back as if he had just got smacked in the jaw with her elbow. He swings her around and they both stumble back. Mike swings Brittany up against the fence and they both go through it with a loud crash.

"OhmyGod!" Santana yelps.

"Cut!" Everybody turns around to look at Santana. She covers her mouth. Sam can't help but laugh silently.

Mike gets up and pulls Brittany up with him, both of them laughing. They have landed on big squishy blue crash mats.

"Reset!" Artie yells out and then looks back at Santana with his pointer finger to his lips. Santana nods.

Santana sees Brittany turn her head and look at her with a smile. She feels so embarrassed but she feels a bit better when Brittany waves at her. Everyone sets up again; they set up a new fence.

"… Action!"

Brittany ends up getting thrown through and breaking the fence about 6 times. Santana cringing every single time. She knows Brittany isn't hurt by it, but it still looks painful and she hated the thought of Brittany getting hurt. Finally the shot is finished and Mike and Brittany are each handed a towel. They grab their water bottles and head towards Santana and Sam. Mike starts talking to Sam right away and Brittany walks over to Santana. Santana stands up, "That was amazing! Did that hurt?"

Brittany smiles, "No not really. We are so used to it. I mean sure, we get small cuts and bruises, but we barely feel it anymore."

Santana frowns, "But you're still getting hurt." She notices a small cut on Brittany's left arm and reaches her hand out but pulls it back.

Brittany looks down at her own arm, gives a half smile, and shrugs, "Didn't even notice it."

"So, are you done for the day?" Santana asks.

"I have one more scene with the actor the guy Mike is doubling for and then I think it's your scene?"

"I think so. They told me to come at 7 and it's almost 10:50."

"Yeah, there's a lot of waiting around. You kind of get used to it. Sometimes I just take a nap in the dressing room and just get Tina to wake me up."

Santana nods, "I'm too nervous to nap though. I keep running my lines over and over again in my head. I don't want to screw up."

"I'm so glad I don't have lines. I wouldn't be able to remember more than one line at a time," Brittany laughs then shrugs, "Sometimes I think my body is smarter than my brain, it memorizes things better."

Santana shakes her head with a frown, "Don't say that Britt, I can tell you're super smart, you just have an equally smart body," she says while trying not to check the blonde out too much. Brittany looks into her eyes and Santana clears her throat then changes the topic, "I wonder how long my scene will take, we are only shooting a small scene with me meeting with – I guess whoever it is you're doubling for."

"Oooh, you're my lawyer! Exciting!" Brittany exclaims, "Well, actually, you're Holly's lawyer, you'll be acting with her. She's totally cool. She's super friendly, and bubbly, and she has a lot to say." There's a little bit of a silence. Santana is about to speak up but when she looks at Brittany it looks like she's thinking hard about something, then continues speaking. "Well, I'm not sure how long your scene is, hopefully not too long. I can wait for you if you want, since Mike and Tina are going to watch a movie after his scene since everyone would already have been changed so Tina won't be needed for wardrobe anymore. Unless… unless you have something to do after." Brittany quickly looks away as if reconsidering her words.

"If you don't mind?" Santana says, bringing Brittany's attention back to her. "I would love if you stayed. I don't know anyone here and I kinda had my whole day planned around doing this.

Brittany gives the biggest smile and nods, "I'll just take a shower while you're doing your scene since I probably stink more than you. Then when you're done we can go get a bite or something. I can't only eat so many scones."

Santana shakes her head and smiles, "I don't smell anything and you're sitting right next to me. I'm not a big scone fan myself."

"Brittany! You're up in 5!" Will calls out.

Both girls look up to William and Brittany nods. The main door opens, "looks like main character just arrived," Brittany said and Santana turns her head, "I've never worked with him, but I heard he may become a pretty big star. I just hope he's nice."

Santana squints her eyes so she can see who it is, then her eyes widen, _Puckerman._

* * *

AN: So, I've noticed my chapters are getting longer and longer which is great but this means that it's taking me longer to write. I don't want to rush through my story and give you guys bad quality writing. So, it may take me a bit longer to upload new chapters, but don't worry, I'll never abandon.

Also, if you guys haven't heard, Feb 20 is Brittana's 1 year wedding anniversary and writers and artists are trying to create something special for the fandom. I'm trying to write a piece for that as well. So while I'm focusing on that, I also want to keep writing this, meaning this might set me back a little as well. I'll try to upload a new chapter in less than a week. Thank you for your support and motivation.

Comments? Please be kind.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Thank you all for your patience. Here's another chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

Santana decides to go to wardrobe during Brittany and Puck's scene. She just wasn't in the mood to talk to him if he had recognized her. She sees Tina and Mike there talking, "oh, sorry." Santana says and is about to turn back towards the door.

"No, Santana, stay. I was just about to call you in for wardrobe. Here this is for you, try it on. I'll make any alterations if I need to." Tina hands Santana a blue skirt and matching blazer with a white blouse. Santana takes the clothes and looks at Mike.

"Sorry," Mike says as he steps out and softly closes the door behind him.

Santana tries on the clothes and the skirt needs to be altered just a little bit, it's a bit loose. Tina goes to work on it. Then Santana remembers that Sam told her that Mike and Tina were dating. Just in case word got out and Sam's misunderstanding about her asking about him and Brittany, she decided to make it clear to Tina that she knew they are together.

"So how long have you and Mike been dating?"

Tina looks up and sees Santana in the mirror and smiles, "almost two years. I started working in wardrobe on stage productions during college, to pay for my tuition. Mike was doing a fencing scene and I had to work on his attire, I couldn't take my eyes off of him. The rest is history."

"Wow, good for you," Santana smiled back, "you guys look really good together."

"Thanks!" Tina said and stood up, "all done."

Santana walks toward the door and opens it slowly and quietly and peeks out. The director is giving Brittany and Puck some pointers on where to stand to get the proper camera angle. She really wants to watch Brittany shoot her scene, but she really doesn't want Puck to see her.

"Who are you staring at?" Tina asks and Santana is startled and her body jumps a bit.

"Just the scene. It's crazy the things Brittany – and Mike – have to do. It looks so scary and painful, don't you get scared?"

"I do," Tina replies, "but it's what he loves. They learn how to break their falls and most of the hits aren't real. Of course, accidents happen, but usually it's nothing more than a few scrapes and bruises." Tina pauses, "but I have seen Mike break his collarbone and fracture his big toe, it is pretty scary. That's why I stay in here most of the time, I can't stand to watch what he does unless it's on TV or in the movies when I know he's actually okay."

Santana nods in understanding. She would hate to see Brittany or even Mike get hurt during a scene. The things they must put their bodies through. She peeks outside again and sees Puck walk towards the door, "Shit," she whispers and then turns to Tina, "where's the washroom? I should go before my scene."

Tina points towards the back of the room, "through there and turn left."

Santana thanks her and walks quickly to the washroom. She hears Puck walk in and start speaking to Tina.

"Hey, hot Asian, ready to strip me down?" Santana rolls her eyes to what Puck is saying to Tina.

"You know my boyfriend is standing outside right? The stunt double?"

There's silence and then, "well, if you ever want to prove the Asian guy theory wrong – or right," Puck chuckles sinisterly, "you give me a call."

There's a little bit of shuffling; Puck is probably changing. Then she hears the door open and close again. She waits a little longer to make sure he's gone. She's about to open the washroom door when she hears the dressing room door open again, she lets go of the door knob and stays silent to see if she can hear who just came in.

"Have you seen Santana? The… um… lawyer?" It's Brittany's voice.

"Yeah, she just went to the washroom, she – " Santana comes out excited, yet shy, "Never mind." Tina laughs. "Well, if you're done, Brittany, you can leave your clothes here and I'll hang them up in the morning. Santana, if you're all good and your clothing fit okay, I'm going to head out. You can just leave your clothes on top of Brittanys'"

"Wanky," Santana says quietly and both girls look at her.

"I'm sorry?" Tina asks with her face scrunched up in confusion.

Santana snaps back into reality, "I mean, have fun at the movies," Santana smiles at her then looks at Brittany who has her head adorably cocked to the side looking just as confused as Tina.

Tina thanks her and she says goodbye to the girls and heads out to meet Mike.

 _Oh shit, I'm alone with her. What do I say? I usually have a lot to say. Well, no. I only have a lot to say when I say mean things. I don't have any mean things to say to Brittany. She's so cute. What? I can't tell her that. Is it hot in here? Oh my God, am I blushing? I hope I'm not blushing. I gotta act cool. I'm an actress. I can act. I should say some –_

"They're just setting up your scene." Brittany breaks the silence. Santana focuses her eyes and she realises she has been staring at her the entire time. The entire time that felt like forever. She quickly looks down and then back up.

"Thanks! Um … sorry I couldn't watch your scene, I - I had wardrobe and Tina had to do some alterations," Santana said, technically not lying. She didn't want to tell her about Puck yet, that would just be awkward considering they all had to work together. "So, Pucker – I mean – Noah left?"

"Yeah, after he got changed he left with his arm around one of the extras," Brittany responded, "honestly don't even think they know each other but they got close really fast." Santana nods and is about to say something but Brittany speaks again first, "Why? Are you, like… interested in him or something?" Brittany said much quieter this time.

Santana realizes her face has fallen into a disgusted expression, as if she had just seen a dog poop on someone's shoe. She quickly shakes her head. "No, no not at all. Not my type," she pauses, then looks back up and watches Brittany's face. "Why? Are you?"

Both sides of Brittany's lips pull downward and her eyes squint just a little. "No. I don't think so. Not my type either." Her frown quickly pulls up again and she's smiling.

Just then there's a knock on the door. "Santana, you're on in 5." That must be William's voice.

"Okay," Santana shouts towards the door then she looks back at Brittany. She wants to say something but she doesn't know what. All she wants to do is look at her, but that might make her creepy so she says the first thing that comes to mind, "What do you want to eat later?"

Brittany's smile widens, "Oh, it doesn't matter to me. Maybe something with eggs? After a workout like that I could use some protein… Wait, unless… is it weird eating eggs at this time? It will be almost 2 o'clock by the time you finish and we pick a place. Like, eggs are a breakfast food right?" Her face is so serious and she just looks so damn cute.

Santana giggles. _Did I seriously just giggle?_ "We can go to a place with eggs and yes, they're usually a breakfast food but people can have them for lunch and dinner too, if they want." She smiles.

Brittany smiles again and nods, "You should go, Artie doesn't like tardy." Brittany stopped and her face is super serious for a moment, then she bursts into laughter. "Artie doesn't like tardy," she repeats. She curls into herself laughing and Santana can't help but laugh with her. There's another knock on the door and they both go silent.

"Shit, I better go," Santana reaches for the door knob and looks back at Brittany just for a moment and smiles. Brittany already has a smile on her face.

"I'll be out after I shower and get changed."

Santana nods and heads out the door.

* * *

Brittany was right, Holly was amazing. She was super upbeat and friendly off camera but once the camera was on her she was totally serious, she was a great actress. Their scene turned out great. Santana acted with confidence and precision. She only forgot her lines once and that was only because she had saw out of the corner of her eyes that Brittany had made her way to the back where Santana had been sitting before and was watching her. For just a split second her brain shouted " _Brittany!"_ and then it went completely blank. However, it was pretty impressive that she had only forgotten once considering the amount of lines she had. This particular scene they were shooting today was a meet and greet of Santana's character and Holly's character after she was arrested for robbery and assault. It was a short scene but it was important to the storyline.

After they finally wrapped up and Santana was about to walk over to Brittany, Holly gave her a big and very surprising hug. "Great job, Chica!" Holly exclaimed, "That was some great work. I'm impressed and surprised that I haven't seen you before on TV or Movies. Talent like that should be shared to the world!"

Santana thought that Holly was being way overdramatic but was happy to hear the words she was saying, "Thanks. I've had a few small parts here and there, but none that anyone would actually remember. Hopefully, this movie puts me on the map."

"I hope so too," Holly said with a cheerful smile. "A bunch of us are going to have a few drinks and maybe go dancing, did you want to join us?"

Santana isn't much of a social butterfly. She prefers to spend quiet alone time with maybe one or two other people at most. "No thanks, I already made plans. Thanks though," Santana said with a smile.

"Alrighty then," Holly said, "If you change your mind gimmie a call." Holly then went over to her bag and dug out a business card for Santana. They said their goodbyes and she started to walk towards Brittany again.

The closer she got to her, the bigger her smile got. She tried her best to keep her chill but she started feeling super excited that they were about to hang out. Brittany had started to stand up as Santana got closer. She also had a smile on her face. "What time is it?" Santana asked once she got closer.

Brittany took her phone out of her pocket, "2:10."

"Okay, I'll quickly get changed and we can go get some eggs!" Santana said with a smile and popped onto her toes when she said _eggs._ Brittany's smile grew and they both walked toward the dressing room. Brittany waited outside for Santana to get changed and my, did she change quickly. Probably the fastest she has ever gotten changed in her life. "Where do you want to go?" Santana said as she walked out of the door and Brittany quickly turned her head.

"Hmmmm," Brittany thought, "there's this small diner a few blocks from here. They have good eggs. We can either take a taxi or walk."

"Well, I drove here so I can drive us or we can walk. I don't mind doing a little walking since I feel like I've been sitting on my ass all day and – oh wait … um, unless you're tired. You exerted quite a bit more physical energy than I did."

Brittany laughed. "No, no. I'm totally fine. I need to work out and keep moving to keep up my energy. It may sound weird but I think I have a rechargeable battery in me… you know the types of batteries that charges themselves when you shake them? I think that's what I have."

Santana raises her eyebrows for a moment. _No wonder her body is so in shape she doesn't stop._ "So we walk?"

"We walk."

* * *

Their walk to the diner was comfortable. There were no awkward silences like the ones people usually have when they hang out for the first time. They made small talk about the show and their characters. Santana didn't want to ask too many questions about Brittany's personal life until they sat down and she really got to pay attention and listen. The diner was only about 5 blocks away, and the sun was shining. There was a slight breeze, but nothing that bothered Santana. Brittany, however, had on a thin blue track jacket.

They made their way into the Diner and grabbed a booth. They looked through the menu and Santana noticed a special meal and pointed it out to Brittany. This meal was called _Good Eggfternoon_ , and it had 4 eggs, pancakes, steak, and house fried potatoes that looked like whole mini potatoes that got squished.

"Look Brittany, 4 eggs! And it's made specifically for the eggfter – I mean – afternoon."

Brittany looks at where Santana is pointing and her eyes go wide, her lips slowly creep up into a smile and then she nods and looks back up at Santana and nods again. Brittany suddenly speaks up, "Oh, but, I don't want the steak." She frowns which causes Santana to frown too but then quickly purses her lips together.

"I'll have your steak. I was going to get an omelette, but if I take your steak I'll have to give you some of my omelette."

"MORE EGGS!" Brittany perks up and gives a big grin.

This makes Santana laugh, "Yes, more eggs."

"Yum," Brittany hums out.

The waitress comes and they give their order. Santana orders a veggie omelette and a black coffee. Brittany orders her _Good Eggfternoon_ Breakfast with her eggs scrambled with cheddar cheese, sprinkles and whipped cream on her pancakes, and a hot chocolate. This causes Santana to smile again. _Can she get any cuter?_ Brittany then unfolds her napkin onto her lap and does a little dance with her arms and upper body; clearly excited for her food. _Yup! She can._

While they wait for their food, Brittany asks Santana about her hobbies and what she does when she hangs out with her friends.

"I like to sing," Santana responds. "But that's just for fun. I went to school for acting so I figured it was what I should do as a profession since I paid big bucks for schooling… well, not me, my parents did." Brittany nods and Santana continues. "Sometimes I like to cook and try out new recipes, that's always fun and let's see, what else… Oh, my friends." Santana pauses for a moment realizing she doesn't hang out with her friends very much. "I don't really do much when I hang out with my friends because I don't - " she hesitates, "I don't have a whole lot of friends… people annoy me," she says quieter than the rest of her sentence. "But I'm not a creepy loner or anything," she mentions quickly before Brittany got weirded out, "I have a few close friends. One of them is actually my agent, we went to high school together and I have a few other close friends… well, kinda close friends'ish… but they live in New York."

Brittany nods and looks like she's deep in thought, "Do I annoy you then?"

Santana's jaw drops and eyes widen, she quickly shakes her head, "No. of course not. I'm actually surprisingly comfortable. You're very easy to talk to." Santana leans in closer against the table towards Brittany in hopes it proves to her she really meant what she said.

"But you said people," Brittany deadpans. "I'm people."

Santana starts to worry when she thinks she had just offended Brittany, then she smirks, "No, you're not people…" Brittany's mouth falls open slightly, "… you're a superhero," Santana says with a grin. Brittany's face quickly lightens up and she tilts her head to the side as her cheeks appear to have pink tinge.

Their waitress approaches with their food and Brittany does another little happy dance, which causes Santana to smile again. Santana cuts her omelette in half and makes the switch for Brittany's steak. They start eating and Santana starts talking, "What about you?" Brittany looks up from devouring her eggs and potatoes. "What do you like to do?"

Brittany hums while she thinks about it, "I like sports almost all kinds of sports but I devoted most of my life to martial arts. I wasn't very good in school and I fell in with a bad crowd, but martial arts kept me grounded. I wasn't able to go out at night because I was too busy training; I'm so glad for that. Who knows where I would have ended up." She takes another bite of her eggs. "I also like music. It keeps me calm or it can pump me up. I also like to draw. I'm not good at it, I just like doodling, it calms me as well. I'm a pretty energetic person, that's why I don't drink coffee. I like it, I like the taste especially if I throw in a lot of sugar. But all the sugar and the caffeine, I'll just be bouncing off the walls." She laughs then takes a sip of her hot chocolate.

"What do you do when you go out with your friend?" Santana asks.

"Not much. We watch movies, work out, maybe go on a hike, or just relax and have dinner or something."

"Sam told me you guys go out with Mike and Tina a lot." Santana is curious, she wants to find out more about her and her feelings toward Sam or any other person for that matter. She remembers Sam telling her there was nothing between them, but she just wanted to make sure.

"Oh – mm – yes," Brittany says with a mouthful then swallows before continuing, "The four of us hang out when we work together. Mike and I are good friends because we started seeing each other on set a lot. We have to work well together or else accidents can happen especially doing what we do. I like working with Mike, I feel like we are the same person, except he's a boy… and he's Asian. "

Santana takes a sip of her coffee, debating whether or not to ask her next question. "So… is it a double date then? When you guys go out? Or… like… because Mike and Tina are together, and … you and Sam… are you –" she trails off.

Brittany shakes her head. "No, Sam and I are just buddies. I mean he's awesome. He's super nice and cute and those lips… but no. I don't know why, I don't feel that way for him. It's not like I haven't thought about it and considered him, but I don't know. My feelings toward him are like siblings. He's like my little brother."

A wave of relief flows through Santana and she nods, "Do you have siblings?"

"I have a little sister. She's quite a bit younger than me. We're close, but we don't have much in common. What about you?"

"I'm an only child," Santana answers as she puts her utensils down after taking the last bite of the steak then takes another sip of coffee. "How did you start working at The Shark Tank?"

"I used to train there. I went there on my free time to work out and train during their open gym hours. The owner, Sue, asked me if I wanted a job. I started teaching kickboxing once a week and apparently I got some great comments by some of the participants so Sue hired me full time. I taught 4 days a week, 2 classes a day, and when I wasn't teaching I was working the desk."

"Then you starting acting?"

"Yeah. Mike came in to work on some stunts during open drop-in one day and I started talking to him. He got me an audition for this small independent film. He told me to get a demo reel together of my stunts and tricks and even competitions, so I did. I usually film myself when I do tricks and cool moves so I can watch them and prefect them if I need to and so I don't forget how to do them. My mom and teammates used to film me during competitions, so I had a lot of those as well. As I started working more in the industry, I started slowing down my days at the Tank. That's when Sue hired Quinn."

"Wow," Santana says, mesmerized by Brittany's story. "That's great! Look at you now. In big movies and TV shows."

"How did you know I was in a TV show?" Brittany asks cocking her head to the side and her eye brows pinched in.

 _Shit._ "I – um – I don't know – I mean, I didn't know. I just assumed. You're very talented."

"Oh! Okay." Brittany says and shrugs it off but her perkiness continued to remain pretty consistent. "Yes, I was in K.O. Kandi for a while. I'm still shooting scenes for them when I need to or when they call me to fly out to L.A."

"Wow, L.A.?"

"Yeah, that's where they film. They're really nice though. When they need some tougher scenes shot and their regular body double can't do it, they fly me in for a few nights or whatever. I usually get to stay a week before I come back here. That's why I can't teach at the Tank. I only do workshops here and there when I can. Sue's pretty good with that. She likes it when I help her out because she doesn't pay me when I do those self defense workshops. Instead, I get free use of the facility and I still get paid when I teach regular classes. I do workshops for fun and for the love and passion for martial arts, and the safety of other people."

"You are amazing, you know that, Brittany?"

Brittany smiles and shrugs, "Nah, I just do what I love."

"Which is what I think is amazing. You do what you want because you love it, because you have a passion for it. That's the best kind of job."

Brittany nods, "That's true. It's hard work but I love it at the end of the day."

The waitress comes by and takes their plates away for them, "Anything else, ladies?"

"Just the check please," Santana replies.

"Together or separate?"

"Sepr –" Brittany begins.

Santana interrupts, "Together." The waitress nods and walks away.

Brittany tilts her head to the side confused. "What?"

"My treat. I never had a chance to thank you properly for saving me that day. This is my way of saying thank you. It's not even close to being enough, but I can always get you more eggs, "she jokes.

A smile creeps onto Brittany's face. Then she becomes serious. "You don't need to. I'm just glad you weren't hurt and besides, look at us now! We're hanging out! I have a new friend!" She beams.

A grin appears quickly on Santana's face, "Yes, that's true. I have a new friend too."

The waitress brings the check and Santana quickly pays it.

"When do you work next?" Santana asks.

"I shoot on Thursday and Friday, what about you?"

"I'm in Monday to Thursday," Santana says a little bit disappointed that she won't see Brittany until next Thursday. Today is only Friday.

Brittany looks at the time, it's only 5. "What are the plans for the rest of the day?" she asks.

"Nothing really." Then Santana had a thought, but was it too soon? They had only been hanging out for a couple hours, but she couldn't resist and she spoke while looking at the table and then picks up her napkin to clean some spots, "You said you had videos of competitions? Or like… your demo reel? I would love to see it if you had it on you."

Brittany smiles and then it fades, "I do have them, but not on me… I – well, I mean, I have them at home, if you – do you want to come over? I don't want to bore you with videos of myself though."

Butterflies begin fluttering in Santana's belly, "If you don't mind? Yes, I want to see them. They won't bore me, I think what you do is amazing."

Brittany's smile grows and she nods, "Okay!"

"We'll go back and grab my car, then we'll head to your place."

* * *

"Wow, nice place, do you live alone?" Santana asks as she pulls up into the driveway.

"I do. This place belonged to my parents but they moved to the other side of the city. I bought it from them after I started working in L.A. They didn't want to live in such a big house because I was back and forth so much, but at the same time I didn't want them to sell it to anyone else. Quinn lived here for a while when she – well, when things weren't going too well at home. So, it's nice to have a couple of guest rooms, just in case. Anyways, come on in. Excuse the mess." Brittany opens the door and walks in with Santana following closely behind her. It's a 3 bedroom house with 3 bathrooms, a small yard, and a balcony. The house isn't too big, but it's definitely bigger than Santana's apartment.

The house wasn't messy at all. It was actually pretty empty. A simple couch and a love seat with a small coffee table in front of it, and a TV in front of that. Next to the living room there was a kitchen and chest level divider between the kitchen and living room. Behind the living room was a washroom, closet, and laundry room. Next to that was a stairway going up. "This is really nice Britt – any," Santana corrected herself.

"You can call me Britt, I'm fine with that. Have a seat, I have to go to the washroom." Brittany turns on the TV for Santana and slightly jogs to the washroom.

Santana sits down. _Wow, this couch is so comfortable._ She looks around the living room a little bit more, but there wasn't much to see. Only a few magazines, a shelf with DVDs, and some certificates and plaques hanging on the wall. Santana stands up to read some of them. _Kung Fu – 1_ _st_ _Degree Black Belt – Brittany S. Pierce, Karate – 1_ _st_ _Degree Black Belt – Brittany S. Pierce, Karate – 2_ _nd_ _Degree Black Belt – Brittany S. Pierce, Coaching certificate, The Shark Tank Instructor of the Year – Brittany S. Pierce, National Martial Arts Tournament – 1_ _st_ _place, National Martial Arts Tournament Black Belt Division – Grand Champion… Wow._

"Whatchu looking at?"

Santana jumps up and quickly turns around and sees Brittany with a smirk and one raised eye brow.

"I'm uhhh – these – wow!" Santana turns towards the awards and turns back and looks at Brittany with her eyes wide and mouth open.

Brittany laughs and shrugs as she walks towards the cabinet to flip through some DVDs. Santana takes a seat back on the couch.

"What do you want to watch?" Brittany asks while continuing to flip through the folder. "Competitions or Demo Reel or stunting practice – no you don't want to watch practices, they're boring – or clips of the shows I was…"

"Demo reel first, please."

Brittany puts the DVD into the player and walks back around to sit next to Santana at the other end of the couch. "Do you want a drink or anything?" she offers.

"No thanks, I'm ok." Santana eyes don't leave the TV screen. It shows snippets of Brittany's practices and competitions, her doing choreographed fighting with Mike and some other people Santana doesn't know, Brittany training on her own, even some actual sparring competitions; probably from a tournament. It was all very, very impressive. "You parents must be proud," she says as she looks over at the blonde.

"They are," Brittany said, turning her head toward Santana, making eye contact. Santana feels a light rush go through her. "They are, but this isn't what they wanted me to be."

"What do you mean?"

"They always thought that this would just be a hobby of mine. To keep my life balanced and to keep me from turning into my friends. They never thought I would make it a career. My mom hated the fact I wanted to do stunting because she thought it was dangerous and she hated the idea of me getting hurt, but I didn't really want to do anything else. I loved it." Brittany shrugs, "She supports me… she just sometimes wishes I had chosen a safer career."

"Have you gotten hurt a lot?"

"Emotionally or physically?" Brittany laughs, but Santana doesn't laugh. "Yes, I have. I broke my wrist once doing a flip off some crates. I lost my footing and fell, missing the crash mat. I hurt both my knees in competition, one time a guy kicked my knee. He got disqualified, but I was out of competition for a few months."

"Wait, you fought boys?" Santana asked stunned.

"Not usually but that was an open category so I joined in. I was the only girl. It was fun, until I started winning because the boys were upset. This one guy just didn't want to lose fairly to a girl I guess."

It was silent for a few moment, the demo reel had finished a long time ago. "Emotionally?" Santana looks at Brittany.

Brittany turns her head and it looks like she's about to frown but picks it up into a smile and shakes her head, "We won't worry too much about that, I'm fine now." She laughs. Santana doesn't laugh. "What do you want to watch next?"

"Ummm…" _What I really want is to know more about you._ "Competitions."

Brittany gets up and puts in another DVD and takes her seat again. This time putting her feet up onto the couch and tucking them slightly under her bum. The DVD has multiple competitions on it, some of it was Brittany doing choreographed routines and some where she's sparring. Santana is totally intrigued and has no idea how long she has been watching. _This girl can move._ She's so fluid but so strong at the same time. She's flexible but intense, and she can totally break someone's jaw while making it look beautiful. Her face when she's fighting or doing her routine is deep and powerful. She looks so mad, so serious, so badass. Very unlike what Santana has been seeing. Santana has seen only the soft, gentle, and kind of dorky side of Brittany. Santana is about to make a comment about that, but when she turns around she sees Brittany has fallen asleep. Her left hand is tucked under her face, and she has her head on the arm of the couch. Her other hand is tucked between her knees and she's slightly curled up into a ball. Santana suddenly gets this feeling, this… feeling that she has fallen for this girl. She knows now, for a fact, that she likes her. She wants to give her some rest so she gets up, the DVD still playing on the background. She softly puts her hand on Brittany's shoulder and speaks quietly, "Hey, Britt. I'm going to go now, you should get some rest."

As Santana slides her hand gently off Brittany's shoulder, but Brittany takes her hand out between her knees and reaches and grabs Santana's wrist lightly. "No."

Santana stops and looks at Brittany, her eyes are still closed, "what is it Britt?"

"Stay." She mumbles quietly.

Santana thinks she might have misheard her, "I'm sorry, what?"

"Don't leave. Stay. Watch. Please."

Santana studies Brittany's face for a moment, her eyes didn't open at all, "Okay, I'll stay until the DVD is done."

Brittany's lips curl up just enough for Santana to see it and then lets go of her wrist. Santana sits back down at her end of the couch and continues watching, every so often glancing over to Brittany. _How can a girl be so hardcore and badass and sexy one moment, and yet so cute and soft and innocent the next?_ Santana stayed until the DVD was finished, except she hadn't noticed it finished because she too, had fallen asleep.

* * *

AN: I've started on my Brittana Anniversary story, I hope it turns out okay. However, it has caused this story to move a lot slower than I wanted. I wanted to stay ahead by at least 2 chapters... but it's not happening. Still, the writing never stops. New post next week.

Comments? Please be kind.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: I was able to catch up on my writing and now I'm able to post a new chapter in less than a week! Yay! :) I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Puck is back. Uh oh. :(

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

"Ow," Santana opens her eyes. _Where am I?_ She looks over at the couch to where the source of pain came from. Brittany. She's lying in the same position with her head still on the arm rest but her right leg has straightened all the way out. Brittany apparently had kicked Santana in her sleep. This makes Santana smile a little bit. She keeps watching her sleep. _She's so beautif –_ "OW." Brittany kicks again _,_ but this time, Brittany wakes up at the sound of Santana's voice.

She snaps her eyes open and looks down the couch where she sees Santana scrunched up in a ball holding her ankle and her own leg completely straight as if she had just done a side kick. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Brittany said getting up quickly and crawling over to Santana's side of the couch and looking down at her ankle, "Are you okay?"

Santana looks down at her own ankle and her hands grabbing it, then up at Brittany, "I'm fine. You didn't even kick me very hard. I don't even know why I'm grabbing my ankle, I think it was just a reflex."

Brittany lets out a sigh of relief but then looks back at her ankle, "Are you sure? Was this the one that was injured before?"

"Yes and yes," Santana says causing Brittany to pout slightly. "No, no, don't pout, I'm okay. I promise."

"Okay, good. I'm sorry again."

"You're forgiven," Santana sits up a bit more and Brittany relaxes and sits back on her on her feet, her legs tucked under her. "You're quite the kicker, even in your sleep eh?"

Brittany shrugs, "I guess so. I was just having this dream that I was riding a unicorn and I fell off but I continued to hold onto its rein. There were soda bottles in my way as I was being dragged so I kept kicking them away, I don't even know why I was doing that. How did I not know it was a dream? I would never ever kick bottles away; I'd gather them up and recycle them."

Santana bursts into laughter, "That was the weird part? The bottles? Not the … unicorn?"

"I'm always dreaming of unicorns, that's kinda normal to me."

Santana shakes her head with a smile, "You just – "

"What?" Brittany asks, tilting her head again in the cute way that she does.

"You just be you," her mouth begins to smile before she even knows it.

Brittany smiles too, "Thanks."

The two girls sit there for a while just looking at each other, neither of them knowing what to say. Then Santana breaks the silence, "What time is it?" She reaches over to her phone to check the time. 8:33am. "Hey Britt, I should probably go. I need to pick up my dry cleaning and pay some bills today before I forget." She gets up off the couch but Brittany stays seated and just watches her get up. "Thanks for letting me crash here, sorry I fell asleep."

Brittany smiles, "No problem, anytime." Then her smile drops.

"What's wrong?" Santana asks, concerned about her new friend's unhappiness.

Brittany takes a deep breath in, "Nothing. It was – it was nice having you over and… I had a lot of fun hanging out with you."

"I had a lot of fun too, Britt. We should hang out again soon. Maybe Thursday?"

Brittany's smile returns and she nods, "Thursday sounds good." She gets up off the couch and walks Santana to the door. As Santana puts her shoes on, Brittany unlocks the door. Once Santana's done she gets up and Brittany opens the door for her. They linger for a while then Brittany lets go of the doorknob and opens her arms, tilts her head to the side, smiles, and raises her eye brows as if asking something. Santana answers right way and steps forward and wraps her arms around Brittany giving her a nice solid hug. Santana closes her eyes for the few seconds the hug lasts. She has never felt so warm and comfortable in anyone's arms before, it's a new feeling, and she likes it. They pull away because neither of them want it to become awkward for the other person.

They quickly smile at each other and Santana steps outside, "See you Thursday, Britt."

"See ya. Good luck on Monday! Let me know your shoot goes?"

Santana nods, "Sure. I'll do that."

Brittany waits at the door until her friend gets in her car. Santana throws a wave and Brittany waves back before heading back into her house and closing the door

* * *

Monday morning: 9am

Santana arrives on set and goes straight to the dressing room. Her scene is up first and she has to shoot with, ugh, Puckerman.

"Good morning, Santana," Tina greets her.

"Morning," Santana says as she takes a sip of her coffee. She gets dressed and make up is applied. She's dressed in a dark blue blazer and knee length skirt. White blouse, gold necklace, and a bracelet. Her hair is down. When she's done she walks out and Puck is already there. She takes a deep breath in and quickly lets it out, and walks towards the set.

She walks up to everyone. Will and Artie are both facing her; Puck's back is towards her.

"Good morning, Santana," Will greets her.

"Morning," Santana replies.

Puck turns around quickly after hearing her name called, "Woah! Look who it is. Good morning there Hot Stuff," Puck says as he looks her up and down. Santana quickly rolls her eyes as she looks away and crosses her arms across her chest and lets out a breath of air. "My, someone is grumpy in the morning," Puck teases.

Santana suddenly feels her heart beat faster, but not in a good way. She feels uncomfortable, and a little but angry. She wants to tell him off right there and then, but holds it in because she doesn't want to cause a scene in front of the director. She turns to Artie, "When do we start?"

"Right now," Artie says, "Places everyone!"

The crew and cast get in their places. Artie quickly briefs everyone on what's going to happen, what he wants, and how he wants it done. Once everyone nods in understanding, they begin shooting the court scene.

Puck is behind the wooden stand and Santana is asking him questions; pacing backing back and forth. From one red "X" to the other, so the cameras are in the right angle. She turns to face him at certain moments then continues to walk. At this moment, they are both completely professional. Santana as the confident and sassy lawyer and Puck as the arrogant deceitful criminal.

"Cut!" Artie calls out, "Let's take a little break; 15 minutes. Good job so far everyone."

Santana goes right to the back table and grabs a bottle of water. She takes a sip. "So, here we are again. You and me. Doing a scene." Santana stops mid sip, closes her eyes briefly already feeling annoyed and turns around. She tilts her head to the side and looks at him with displeasure. "Come on, cheer up," Puck says as he takes a step closer.

Santana crosses her arms again and slightly leans back, "Can't, you're here."

Puck chuckles, "Aww, don't be that way. You're beautiful, I'm sexy as fuck. Let's just call a spade a spade, we have chemistry."

"I've told you before, Puckerman. Not interested."

"Impossible. I feel heat. There's heat between us."

"Mhm, it's called a boiling point and if I stand here any longer I'll probably be fired, so I'm going to leave now." Santana turns and takes a seat on the other side of the set.

Puck goes to the refreshment table and grabs a drink and a muffin.

15 minutes later, they're filming again. There is a lot of dialogue in the scene, some yelling on Pucks part and finger pointing by Santana. They finally complete their scene after another 2.5 hours. Santana heads to the dressing room to change back into her street clothes. She changes as quickly as she can before grabbing her bag and heads straight for the exit. That was enough Puckerman for one day. She still has to face him tomorrow in another scene, a scene she dreads.

She gets home and takes her phone out before dropping her purse onto the couch and going to the fridge to grab some carrot sticks and a bottle of water. She looks at her phone and sees that she has a new text message.

 ** _From Britt: How did it go today?_**

A small smile flashes on Santana's face as she plops down onto the couch and starts replying as soon as she puts the carrot sticks and water bottle down.

 ** _To Britt: It went well. I just got home. How bout u?_**

Brittany responds almost right away.

 ** _From Britt: My day was uneventful. Ran some errands, hung out with Lord Tubbington and just stayed in bed with him most of the day. How was ur new co-star? :-)_**

Santana looks at her phone in confusion, _who's Lord Tubbington?_

 ** _To Britt: He's… to be honest, I don't like working with him. He's nice, but he's a creep. He's only nice because he's a creep. … Who's Lord Tubbington?_**

 ** _From Britt: Why is he a creep? What did he do? Lord Tubbington is my one and only. I love him so much… he's my ;)_**

Santana didn't even read the first part of the message. The first thing that caught her eye was the end and her heart sinks into her stomach and it kind of starts to hurt. Another text comes in.

 ** _From Britt: …cat._**

Santana's heart is no longer in her stomach. She sighs in relief as she shakes her head at how silly she just felt. She goes back to the message and rereads it when she realizes there was more to that message. She shoots out another text.

 ** _To Britt: Cute! He's just a creep. I've actually worked with him before… let's just say, I don't trust him. Why didn't I see your cat when I was at your house?_**

 ** _From Britt: Hmm… I don't like the sound of that. I hope tomorrow's shoot goes better for u. Lord T was in my room writing a novel and he doesn't like distractions. I actually have to take him for a walk now. Exercising takes his mind off of smoking. He's trying to quit._**

Santana frowns at her phone; completely confused at Brittany and her relationship with her cat. _Is she for real or is she just fucking with me? I need to ask her about that one day._

 ** _To Britt: ok. Have a nice walk. Good luck with your cat._**

 ** _From Britt: Thanks! Good luck tomorrow. Keep me updated? :-)_**

 ** _To Britt: thank u. will do._**

For the rest of the day Santana can't take her mind off 3 things. First, is Brittany's cat. Does it actually write novels and smoke? No, that's impossible… right? Second, tomorrow's scene with Puckerman is going to be horrible and she knows it will not end well. She can't stop thinking of different scenarios, all of which Puck is being a douchebag. Third, Brittany. Just, Brittany being Brittany and it warms her body. She goes to sleep that night with clashing thoughts of Brittany and Puck. How Brittany makes her feel, and how Puck makes her feel. Two polar opposite feelings. She wants to only think of Brittany, but her anxiety and apprehensive feelings towards tomorrow's shoot keeps flashing in her head as well. She had a restless sleep that night.

* * *

Everyone is at the studio ready to roll. Santana is hoping this day ends quickly considering the scene she has to shoot. Puck's character, Brandon Hammer, is convinced he can seduce Santana's character, Laurel Santos, into easing up on him and perhaps even convincing her to give up some of her evidence.

The scene starts in a coffee shop.

"Action!"

It's late at night and there are only a couple of people in the coffee shop along with 1 barista. Laurel is sitting at a table drinking a coffee with her laptop in front of her. She is typing away when suddenly someone sits next to her. It's Brandon Hammer. His black eye is fading and he's sitting with his body facing her.

"Hey, Laurel, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Hammer. What do you want?"

"When I saw you in court I just couldn't take my eyes off of you. You're beautiful you know? I bet not enough people tell you that."

"I'm flattered Mr. Hammer, really. But I'm very busy right now, and besides, we shouldn't be talking." She continues to type away.

"You know I'm not a bad guy, Laurel. I wouldn't hurt anyone. Look!," he points to his eye, "I'm the one that got attacked."

"Mhm, well, you can tell that to the judge, not me." She turns to face him, "Why are you here?"

"I just – I wanted, no…" He hesitates, "I've missed you."

This is the part Santana was dreading but she has to be professional.

Laurel looks up at him, "What?" she says quietly.

"Look, Laurel. I know your husband left you because you were working too hard. I respect what you do. I like a woman that can handle herself and is passionate about her job."

"How did you –"

"When I saw you, I felt like I wanted to be the man to make you smile. To love you, to hold you when you needed, I would never leave you because you love your job. A person who does that is not a man." Laurel looks down and Brandon puts his hand on her cheek and lifts her head gently back up. "I know we are on opposite sides of the courtroom, but I feel what I feel and when this is all over, I am going to prove to you that I am the man your ex-husband could not be."

"I can't – "

"You can't right now," he says softly, "but maybe… maybe sometime in the future?" She looks him in the eyes. "Hey, I'm going out for a smoke. You seem stressed; would you like to join me?"

Laurel looks to her computer, her battery is low anyways so she closes her laptop and nods. She packs her laptop into her bag and looks up to see that he is holding his hand out for her and she takes it. They head out the door.

"Cut! Excellent! Set up for the next scene!" Artie Calls out

Santana pulls her hand back but Puck won't let go. She yanks it back again, but he has a tight grip on her. She twists her wrist and pulls down quickly toward the side of his thumb; this allows her to break free of his hold. _Thank you, Brittany, for that self defense class_. She walks in the opposite direction to grab her water and look over her script. They only have one more scene to shoot today.

"Places everyone!" Will calls out and Santana and Puck stand on their "X's" Puck is leaning up against a wall and Santana is standing in front of him. It's pretty dark except for one light shining down on the two of them indicating there is a lamppost somewhere close to them.

"And… … Action!" Artie calls out.

Brandon takes out the pack of cigarettes and passes one to Laurel before putting one in his mouth. He lights it for her and then for himself. They both take in a puff before they exhale.

"What is it about you?" Brandon asks, "Everything about you is so captivating." Laurel shrugs and shakes her head, and takes in another drag. She doesn't look at him. Instead, she's looking at the ground and watches her own hand as it flicks away the ashes hanging off the end of her cigarette. "Hey," he says gently and she looks up, "I know this isn't the most optimal situation, but there's something here." He flicks the cigarette away and puts his hand on her cheek. He closes his eyes and leans in. She closes her eyes.

"CUT!" Artie yells out.

Santana snaps her eyes back open but just as she's about to pull back, Puck tugs her head forward just a little and kisses her. Santana pushes him away and turns to Artie, "What's going on?" She asks.

"I don't like the angles," Artie replies, "We are going to switch your positions. Santana you go against the wall, and Noah, you stand in front." They both nod and take their places.

They do that whole scene again but this time, they kiss.

Santana drops the cigarette and wraps her arms around his neck as he lowers both his hands to her waist and pushes her against the wall.

"CUT!" Santana pulls away and steps to the side, Puck falls into the wall. "Santana, you look really stiff. Relax a little. Don't forget, Laurel wants this." Santana sighs and nods. "Places!" Artie calls out again.

They're back against the wall now. Her arms are around his neck and his are on her waist but his hands begin to slide further back and his left hand, the one not seen by the camera, starts to slide down her ass. Santana flinches and pushes him away slightly.

"CUT! Santana, what happened?" Artie asks.

"This fucker grabbed my ass!"

"What? No! You wish!" Puck says, completely offended.

"Alright guys, that's enough," Will calls out. "Santana, maybe Noah just got caught up in the moment. Noah, control yourself please." Puck nods his head and Santana shakes hers.

They take their places once again, but before Artie calls action, Puck looks at Santana and raises his eye brows. Santana looks at him confused. Puck then looks down towards his crotch and back up at her. Santana is completely confused until Puck raises his eyebrows at her again. She looks down and realizes that his eyebrows aren't the only things that are raised, but before she can do anything, Artie calls action.

They start kissing again and his hands again slide down her body and stop at her waist. He leans into her, pushing her up against the wall and she feels _everything_ pressed up against her. She wants to push him away and slap him but she knows if she does, one of two things will happen; she'll get fired, or they'll have to redo the scene. She can't get fired, and there's no way she will redo the scene, so she continues. However, when Puck bends at the knees and then leans into her again before pushing himself up, she feels his crotch rub right up between her legs and she can't take it anymore. She pushes him back and slaps him right across the face.

"CUT!"

"What the FUCK!?" Puck yells out.

"Santana, what the hell was that?" Artie asks.

"I can't do this anymore!" Santana says and points to Puck, "This asshole is rubbing himself up against me, it's inappropriate and disgusting! This is fucking sexual assault!"

Everyone directs their attention to Puck and he just shrugs, "I'm sorry guys! I mean, yeah, Santana is hot and I'm kissing her and, yeah, I'm totally turned on by her, and this is – this is embarrassing for me too… but I can't help it. However…," he pauses, "I wasn't doing anything, I was just trying to act, and I can't help it if she thinks I was trying to, what? Rub myself against her?" He looks at her as if he was insulted by her accusations.

"Alright everyone, let's take a break," Artie calls out.

"No, this is bullshit," Santana yells out, "I can't work with him anymore, this isn't the first time this creep has done this, so no, I quit!" Santana storms off and heads towards the door when she is stopped by Emma.

"Santana," Emma says as she pulls Santana to the side, "I know this is tough for you, but you're almost done the scene."

"No! I'm not going to get close to that fucker anymore. He should be fired for what he was trying to do."

"Boys are boys, Santana, sometimes they can't control their – blood flow."

"If I work with him anymore, blood will flow. I'm going to shank that mother fu –"

"Santana," Emma interrupts her, "I know what you want to do and I know this is uncomfortable for you but if you quit, it will be on your permanent acting record. You won't get a good reference from Artie, people will say you are difficult to work with, and it will be much harder to get a job in this industry. It's a very small industry, and everyone talks. It will be career suicide."

Santana thinks about this; career or dignity? Dignity. "I'm sorry Emma, I can't. You guys have to find someone else; I can't go through anymore of that."

Just then, Will walks up to Santana. Both girls look up at him and Emma steps away, leaving Will alone with the Latina.

Santana shakes her head but Will speaks anyways, "Santana look, we've spoken to Puck and he claims it was an accident. He promises it will never happen again and besides, if you leave, it will be a breach of contract and… well, that can get messy."

"This is fucked up," Santana says under her breath, "I'm not doing that scene again," she says a little louder.

"We don't have to," Will replies. "We have enough footage for today. Artie said that we'll change some stuff up and we can start fresh on the post-kiss scene. You'll receive your new script tomorrow morning. We'll work on some other scenes with Noah tomorrow, so you don't have to come in. We think the two of you can use a little break; we'll continue on Thursday."

Santana nods, "So, we're done?"

"We're done for today, thank you, Santana."

Santana walks towards the change room and closes the door. It was a shit day for her. She really doesn't want to keep going but she understands what would happen if broke her contract. She'll have to get Puck back another way, but how?

As Santana leaves the dressing room and walks towards the exit, Puck appears again but Santana doesn't have the energy to deal with him, "Back off, Puckerman. I'm gay, and I'm not interested."

"Look, Santana. I'm sorry," He says just as Emma passes by. He says it loud enough for everyone to hear. "I'll try to control myself better next time, but…" he pauses and looks around and notices that there is no one else around them, "but, I'm still hard," he says quietly as he looks down. She automatically looks down too then rolls her eyes. "Ha! You looked! You might not be as gay as you thought. Give me a chance to un-gay you."

"Fuck off!" is all she says as she storms out.

Puck calls out to her as she leaves, "okay, but it won't be as fun without you!"

Santana quickly gets into her car and drives home. Once she's home she gets in the shower and tries to rise the day away.

After her shower, she sits down in front of the TV but before she turns it on she checks her phone and notices she has a new message.

 ** _From Brittany: How was it?_**

Santana thinks about replying. Her day was horrible. Instead she scrolls through her contact list and taps on the name, _Brittany Pierce_ ¸ and holds the phone up to her ear.

Brittany answers after two rings, " _Hello_?"

"Hey Britt," she says with low energy.

" _What's wrong_?" Brittany's voice is full of concern.

All of a sudden, Santana feels like she wants to cry. She hated her day, she hated Puckerman, she hated that she couldn't quit, and most of all, she hated that she had to go back to that set on Thursday.

" _Hello? Santana_?" Brittany repeats herself since Santana didn't respond.

"Yeah, sorry, Britt. I'm here," Santana finally speaks up, "Today was horrible, I want to quit."

 _"What happened? Are you okay?"_

"Mhm," is Santana's only response. She feels like if she was to tell Brittany the whole story, she would start crying and how embarrassing would that be?

" _No you're not. I'm coming over…"_ Brittany pauses, " _Is that okay? Can I come over?"_

Santana so wants Brittany over, but at the same time, doesn't want Brittany to waste her time consoling her, "It's okay Britt, I'm okay."

 _"No you're not, I'm coming over. I won't be too long."_

"Okay, thank you," is all Santana can say, then she realizes, "Do you need an address?"

 _"I remember where you live, Santana. I walked you home that time, remember?"_

Santana smiles a little bit at the memory, "Right. Okay, thanks, Britt."

" _See you soon."_

* * *

Brittany calls Santana after 15 minutes letting her know she's in front of her apartment. Santana then tells her the buzzer code and her unit number then waits for Brittany to come up.

Soon, Brittany is in her apartment and both of them are sitting on her couch. One girl on each end of the couch. Santana is facing the blank TV and Brittany is facing her.

It's silent for a while then Santana feels the couch shift and bit and she looks over. Brittany is sitting closer to her, still facing her. Santana just wants to hug her, but she doesn't feel like their friendship has gotten to that point yet. Actually, she hasn't gotten to that point with any of her friends before. She's just not one to initiate hugs.

"What happened?" Brittany finally speaks up.

"I hate this movie," is all Santana says.

"Did they do something to your character?" Brittany asks. Santana shakes her head. "Were they mean to you?" She shakes her head again. "Is it the guy… The Noah guy?" Santana doesn't move. "It's him isn't it? What happened? Please tell me. You'll feel better."

Santana nods. It takes her a while but then she begins to speak, "He's disgusting. I – I don't know if you'll believe me, I don't know if anyone really believes me."

"I'll believe you," Brittany assures her, as she scoots a bit closer to her. Santana is comforted by Brittany's closeness.

"Do you remember when I told you I didn't trust him?" Brittany nods. "Well, I was already dreading today's scene because it was a kissing scene." Brittany's eyebrows pinch together but she nods, focusing on the other girl's words and asking her to continue. "First, as we were kissing he grabbed my ass then denied it."

Brittany takes a deep breath in, "Okay."

"Then he made me look at his crotch and his – his – ugh…"

"Ohmygosh, was he..."

"He was. I was going to say something but Mr. Abrams called action and so I sucked it up and continued. He leaned into me and I felt it against me. I tried to get the scene over with but then when he dipped down and – fuck, I can't even say it," Santana says as she covers her eyes with her hands.

"It's okay, San… I think – I think I kinda got it."

 _San? She just called me San. I'm supposed to hate it, but… I don't. I actually like it. I feel closer to her._ Santana looks Brittany in the eyes, silently asking if she really knew what happened.

"He rubbed up against you? Like… He tried to put it in you with clothes on?"

Santana is shocked at how straight forward Brittany was, but that pretty much summed it up. "Yea, I guess – yeah, something like that."

"What did you do? Did anyone say anything?"

"I pushed him away and slapped him," Santana said, looking away from Brittany embarrassed but upset.

"Good!"

Santana looks back up at Brittany, she looks upset. "But, Britt, I could have been fired."

"Good on you though, Santana. He deserved it."

"They said they're going to change the scene up a little bit. I wanted to quit, but they reminded me what would happen if I broke the contract. Besides, no one really saw it and I have no proof. He made an excuse that he was caught up in the moment and that he didn't mean it, and he made it look like I was full of myself by accusing him of – well – the rubbing, and that he was sorry and blah blah blah. But then when I was about to leave, he made another nasty comment when no one was around, the fucking asshole is – argh, I hate him!" Santana growled a little too loud, startling Brittany. "I'm sorry, Britt. It's just. I've tried everything to get him to fuck off. I even told him –" She stops herself and looks at Brittany.

Brittany is searching her face, asking her to continue, "You told him what?"

Santana stays silent. _What if I freak her out by telling her I'm a lesbian? What if she doesn't want to be friends with me anymore? What if she hates me? What if…_

"San?" Brittany is closer to her, looking up at her, trying to find her eyes. Santana finally looks back and is focused again on the blue eyes in front of her. "You told him what?" Brittany asks again.

"I told him – don't freak out okay?"

"You told him not to freak out?" Brittany asked confused.

"No," Santana laughs a little, "I'm asking YOU not to freak out."

Brittany is serious again, "Oh, ok, of course I won't. What is it?"

"I told him that I was a lesbian." Santana stops and tries to read Brittany's reaction.

Brittany's eyes go wide and Santana can swear she saw part of her lip curve upward but quickly turns back into a frown, "Continue," Brittany encourages.

"I told him I was a lesbian and he evidently doesn't care. He says he can un-gay me. I've told him before – when I worked with him last time – that I was gay, and I thought he had gotten the message, but apparently not."

"Wow," Brittany shakes her head and it scares Santana.

"Wow what? Did I just freak you out? I'm sorry – I – don't worry, I don't hit on straight girls, that's a rule I have, I – I just wanted to tell you and –"

"No," Brittany cuts off her rambling and places her hand on Santana's knee to relax her. "I wow'ed at how Noah reacted to it. He's so ignorant and rude and horrible, he's a horrible guy. What he did – he thinks he can – how can he think he can – who the hell does he think he is? And get got away with it, like, no one did anything, and I bet he – I can't believe he -" Brittany stops herself this time and looks at Santana, her eyes narrowed, her brows furrowed, her lips pursed together, she is breathing harder, and as Santana takes in Brittany's obviously pissed off face she looks down at her hand and notices that her right hand, the one not on Santana's knee, is balled up into a fist.

"Hey," Santana says and Brittany looks back up at her, seeming to relax a bit, "It's okay, Britt. They're changing the scene and I don't have to touch him again. They're giving me tomorrow off, and sending me an updated script. I think it's only going to be verbal from now on. Brittany nods, but she still looks pissed. Santana is surprised at how upset Brittany looks, more upset than herself actually. "Thank you," Santana says and it breaks Brittany out of the trance she seemed to have been in.

"I – what? Why?" Brittany asks, quietly and much calmer this time.

"Thank you. For coming over, and listening to me rant, and understanding."

Brittany gives a smile and nods. She sits up straight and takes her hand off Santana's knee. Santana suddenly misses the contact but smiles as soon as she sees the blonde open her arms, "Come here," is all Brittany says. Santana sits up and leans into Brittany, hugging her tightly, "Anytime, Santana. Anytime." Their hug finally breaks. "He'll get what's coming to him, eventually. He won't be able to get away with it all the time, someone will catch him."

"He's gotten away with it so far," Santana responds with a shrug, "He's super sneaky."

Brittany seems to be in deep thought then she looks back at Santana, "It'll happen. One day, I promise."

Santana chuckles, "You promise? How can you promise or control if he gets caught or not?"

"I just – I just promise karma will hit him hard one day," Brittany says as she lifts her right pinky up to Santana. The smaller girl smiles and is about to lock her own right pinky with Brittany's when the blonde pulls back and speaks again, "No, use the other hand."

Santana stops and tilts her head in confusion because pinky swears are normally done this way, but she complies and lifts her left to hook onto Brittany's right. They both look at the locked pinkies and smile. Santana can't help her curiosity, "Why this way, Britt?"

Brittany's smile widens as she stands up and pulls Santana by the pinky up with her so they're both standing. "So I can do this," Brittany says as she wraps her free arm around Santana's body and into a hug, "and our arms won't get stuck between us." Santana leans her head on Brittany's shoulder. She could do this for hours. "Heart to heart," Brittany says. Santana pulls back just enough to look at Brittany, "Heart to heart," Brittany continues, "I've been told that the best hugs are when you can feel the other person's heart against yours."

 _Wow._ Santana thinks to herself. She smiles at Brittany and leans her head back onto the taller girl's shoulder. They stay there for a while before they pull away.

"I should get going," Brittany says as she looks at the clock on Santana's DVD player. "I have rehearsal with Mike tomorrow morning."

Santana nods and walks Brittany towards the door without letting go of their pinkies.

"Thanks again, Britt," Santana says again.

Brittany just smiles as she opens the door, "I'll see you Thursday."

Finally releasing their pinkies, Brittany leaves the apartment and Santana washes up and goes to bed, feeling one hundred times better than she had felt earlier that day.

* * *

AN: Hope to have another chapter up in less than a week as well. Also, I have my Brittana Wedding Anniversary project done. It's just a one-shot, but it's a first for me. So, please look for it on the 20th. P.S. If anyone is interested, I do have tumblr. ziesspot is my username there as well.

Comments? Please be kind.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Ugh, I tried to get this chapter out sooner, but I got tied up. I was only going to post my Brittana Wedding Anniversary story but I felt guilty since I promised a new chapter. So here it is. I hope you all enjoy it. I'm going to post the other story now as well, please check out _Mounds of Infinity_ and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

"Good morning, Santana."

Santana recognizes the voice right away and her body perks up as soon as she hears it. She turns around from the refreshments table holding a coffee in her hand to sees Brittany walking up next to her, "Morning, Britt."

"What have you been up to?"

Santana thinks back to what she did all day yesterday, "Not much actually. I received the new script so I spent the day at home going over it."

"No-touchy?"

It takes a while before Santana realizes what Brittany meant, then she smiles and shakes her head, "No, there's no-touchy."

"Good," Brittany says with one big exaggerated nod. "I'm just going to get changed and put my stuff away, I'll be right back."

Santana watches as Brittany heads towards the dressing room. Her own scene is first, and then it's Brittany's turn. Santana got to the studio early to get changed, so she's already wearing her burgundy skirt and blazer with a beige blouse underneath. A few sips of coffee and half a scone later, she sees Brittany come out in her costume. Black tank top with a leather jacket, dark blue jeans, and ankle boots. Her hair is down but swiped over her right shoulder. She looks hot.

Just as Brittany is about to approach Santana again, she gets cut off by a man in baggy ripped jeans and a black dress shirt, "Hey hey, good lookin'."

Santana cringes when she hears the voice and she looks up. Puck is standing with his back facing her, in between her and Brittany. He must have cut Brittany off on her way back from the dressing room. "Hi, umm… Noah, right?" Brittany asks.

"That's right. Good memory. Although it's hard to forget someone like me, right?"

At this point, Santana has put her coffee back on the table and her arms are crossed over her chest, watching the exchange go down. She sees Brittany peek over his shoulder and make eye contact with her. Then just as quickly, her eyes go back to Puck. "Sure, would you excuse me please? I'm trying to talk to Santana over there."

Puck turns around and gives Santana a little wave with a little smirk. She just rolls her eyes at him.

"Please doll, you don't want to get too close to her. She might turn you into a lesbian and if she does, you wouldn't get a chance to hang out with Puckasaurus here." Puck then leans in to whisper something into Brittany's ear, and Brittany doesn't take her eyes off Santana when he does. Brittany then smiles and whispers something back into Puck's ear. Santana feels her face heat up with jealousy.

The two make some quiet exchanges before Puck walks away and Brittany walks over to the other girl. Santana looks down at the table in front of her because she doesn't know what to say. Was she wrong to have told her all about what happened? Were her and Puck friends? Did Brittany like him? She's too afraid to ask so she focuses herself on her coffee. She feels the other girl approach her from behind and then Brittany whispers into her ear, "He's pissed." Her breath on her ear brings a shiver up Santana's body and she turns around. Brittany has big smile on her face.

"What – were you guys talking about?" she asks shyly, "your conversation looked really intimate."

Brittany lifts her head up to the ceiling and laughs, "No, not at all. He said something about people calling him a dinosaur because – I'm not sure. Something about his neck being as long as a dinosaur's tail? Or his tail being as long as their neck? Or something about something being big and long, I'm not sure. So I told him that T-Rex was my favourite and asked if he was like the T-Rex, he said yes, so I told him that the T-Rex had a tiny brain and tiny hands, and you know what people say about guys with tiny hands? Then he told me that he can prove to me that hand and penis size had no correlation, so I told him that there has been no proof that the T-Rex even had a penis." Both girls are silent for about a second, then they burst out in laughter.

"Santana you're up in 5," Will calls out.

"Thank you for that, Britt. It made my day."

Brittany winks and tells her that she'll be right here watching their scene so she can call him out if he tries anything.

Santana and Puck do their scene and just like Will had told her, there was no physical contact. Laurel tells Brandon that nothing can happen between them and that she needs to go back to being professional and that he should stay away from her or else she'll have to request a restraining order on him. About two hours later, their scene is finished and it's Brittany's turn. Santana heads straight toward Brittany and sits down next to her.

"You're a really great actress," Brittany tells her. "Like, I couldn't take my eyes off of you." Almost as if realizing what she just said, Brittany ducks her head down and blushes. "I mean, like, you're just really good."

Santana can't take her eyes off the blonde either, "Thank you. I can't wait to watch your scene either."

The two girls make small talk until Brittany is called up for her scene with Puck. He has changed into black sweats, a black sweater, and a toque. They have put up the house and the front yard again. They are now going to shoot the close up scenes of Puck's face during the struggle between Brandon and Liz. Holly and Brittany are dressed exactly the same, and Puck and Mike are dressed exactly the same. They shoot the scene between Holly and Mike first. A few hits here, some struggles there, Mike gets knocked down to the floor a few times. Everything went smoothly, both of them were extremely professional and got everything done exactly the way Artie wanted it; with a few modifications here and there at Artie's request. Now it was Brittany and Puck's turn.

Puck has his arms wrapped around Brittany's body and she is supposed to kick him in the face. Yes, kick high enough to kick his face with her back being against his front. They try it a few times but Artie isn't liking it, so they try something new. Artie wants to go for an elbow maybe, it would be caught better on film. So Puck puts one arm across her chest and one arm across her waist. This is very hard for Santana to watch, just because she knows what Puck is probably thinking, and she really doesn't want his dirty hands on her blonde. What? Her blonde? No, she meant her blonde friend. That's right, that's what she meant.

"Action!" Artie calls out and Santana's eyes go back to the actors.

Brittany is so quick that no one really expected it and Puck wasn't fast enough to avoid it. She lifts her left elbow out of his arms, spins super fast, and nails him right in the jaw with her elbow. Everyone, including Santana sitting about 40 feet away, heard the contact between Brittany's elbow and Puck's face.

"Cut!"

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Brittany turns around to face Puck, "I thought you knew that as coming. Maybe we should rehearse it a few more times?"

Santana's hand is now at her mouth. She doesn't know if she's in shock or if she wants to laugh.

Artie asks the two of them to go over it a couple more times, he asks Brittany to slow it down a little bit so Puck has time to lean back and fake the hit. Brittany agrees and they go through it a few more times perfectly.

"Action!"

The two of them struggle and without warning Brittany lifts her elbow again and smacks him right in the cheek bone. _Whap!_ Puck hits the ground and everyone jumps up to surround him. Brittany covers her mouth again, "I'm so sorry. You were supposed to dodge it."

"Fuck!" Puck yells out, "I thought you were supposed to be a professional!"

"I am," Brittany says innocently, "I've never hit anyone like that before, generally they dodge on time, and my timing is usually impeccable, right, Mike?" She turns and looks at Mike that is standing just off to the side.

Mike nods, "Yeah, Brittany is one of the best."

"Alright, let's take a 10 minute break. Emma can you please get an ice pack?" Will asks.

Brittany grabs her water bottle and looks over at Santana while she takes a sip. Santana had just realized that her eyes are wide and her mouth is open watching in amazement at what had just happened. Brittany shrugs a little bit, then winks before going back onto the set to assess the damage.

10 minutes pass and it has been determined that Puck has a bruised cheek bone, but nothing is broken. Puck goes into make up to get his bruise covered up and they're ready to shoot the scene again.

This time Brittany moves slower but Puck flinches away quickly so the timing is off. This happens a few times and Artie is starting to get annoyed. Finally after 12 takes and a few words with Puck, the scene finally ends. There is only one more shot to film. Brittany is supposed to tackle Puck lightly and they are to fall to the ground so they can catch Puck's face as he falls. It's not quite the tackle Brittany gave Mike the other day, just a little one but Brittany is still supposed to jump in the air, and lightly fall on him.

Going into it, Brittany tackles him so lightly that it looks super fake.

"Brittany, can you do it a bit faster please? Make it more realistic?" Artie asks her.

Brittany moves just a little bit faster, but she's still super gentle, and super slow.

"Cut! Brittany, please!" Artie is getting frustrated at this point, "You're not going to hurt him, just please tackle him properly!"

"But what if I hurt the princess? What if he's not fast enough to catch me the way he's supposed to and I break him?" She mocks seriously.

"Fuck that!" Puck says, "I'm a man, I can take a hit. It's not like I can't catch you, now stop acting so stupid and make sure your timing is right."

"What did you say?" Brittany's face drops and she turns her head just slightly sideways, turning her ear toward Puck as if she wanted to hear him say it again. Intensity is burning through her eyes, "What did you call me?"

Everyone goes quiet. Santana's jaw has dropped. She has never seen Brittany so irate; it's almost scary. No, it IS scary. Even though she hated Puck, she feels a little bit sorry for him now that Brittany is looking at him the way she is.

Puck straightens his back and puffs up his chest, "I said let's get this over and done with, so just do this properly and stop playing dumb."

If flames could emerge from Brittany's eyes, they probably would have already. Brittany takes a deep breath in and exhales, not for a moment taking her eyes of Puck.

"As you wish, let's get this over with," Brittany says as cheerful as she possibly can with daggers still shooting out of her baby blues; that have now turned quite a few shades darker. Her voice sounds perky but her eyes sing a different tune.

"Yes, finally, let's do this!" Puck says proudly.

Brittany steps back to her starting position.

"Action!"

Brittany runs and tackles Puck quickly, with just the right amount of force, perfect landing and energy; it's as if she's done this a million times. She lands on top of him with her hands on his shoulders.

"ARGH! Fuck!"

"Cut!"

"What?" Brittany asks innocently

Puck pushes her off and grabs his crotch and rolls over onto his side laying in the fetal position. His face is turning red and he's barely breathing.

When Brittany had jumped onto him she had _accidently_ kept her knee in front of her so when they fell onto the floor, her knee went right into Puck's special place.

Santana looks around and all the boys seem to feel Puck's pain. They're all wincing and some of them even have their own hand on their crotches. Everyone is silent.

"I'm sorry," Brittany looks down at Puck.

Puck just waves his hand quickly and he goes back to his fetal position.

"You should breathe, you're turning red."

A few minutes later, Puck gets up with the help of Will and another crew member.

"I think we're done for today," Artie says.

Brittany looks at Artie and pouts, "Sorry."

"It's okay Brittany, it's not your fault, it happens. We had actually advised Puck to wear a cup, but he refused to."

Brittany nods and walks to the dressing room to get changed. When she's out, she heads straight towards Santana. She stands up when Brittany is close.

"Wow, did you – did you do that on purpose?" Santana asks quietly.

"I'm just very clumsy, and apparently too stupid to know what I'm doing," Brittany says sarcastically. "Let's just say he won't be messing around with us anymore, in fact, he won't be messing around for a while in general." Brittany leans into Santana's ear, "Told you Karma would hit him hard."

A big smile shows up on Santana's face. Then her smile fades as she grab's Brittany's arm so the blonde would look at her, "For the record, you're not stupid. In fact, you're kind of a genius." Brittany just looks at the smaller brunette, absorbing her eyes into her own, but she doesn't speak. "Okay?" Santana says. Brittany nods. "Okay?" Santana repeats.

"Okay," Brittany whispers as she looks away. _That's a lie._ Santana believes Brittany just said it to humor her, she doesn't believe she's not stupid. She can see it in her sad blue eyes that she doesn't believe she's a genius. Well, Santana will just have to prove it to her one day. Just then, another blonde comes bouncing towards them.

"Hey hey, girls. What say we grab a little bevy?" Holly wraps her arm around each girl.

Santana looks over to Brittany and Brittany nods.

"Sure! Let's go," Santana says

* * *

The three girls end up going to a bar just down the street. They sit down and a table and order some drinks and a plate of chili fries to share. They started out talking about their day; when Brittany first met Holly, how Holly almost threw up in her first kickboxing class with Brittany because it was way too hard for her, and how Holly wanted to go to another one of Brittany's classes but this time, take it easier. They start talking about the women and men at The Shark Tank.

"There are a few hotties there, right Britt?" Holly asks as she takes another sip of her Dirty Martini. Brittany just shrugs. Santana is paying full attention to Brittany's responses now, this is her chance to learn more about the girl. "Please, take Quinn for example. If she was interested I'd totally –"

"Holly!" Brittany cuts her off and causes Santana to giggle.

"What? It's true. I'm not gay but, I can have some fun with girls, am I right? Girls just want to have fun," Holly winks at both girls. "What about you Santana? You've been to The Tank, right?"

"I have."

"Any hotties there attract you? Like the tall cutie at the desk."

"Finn? Nooooo… noo…no," Santana says as she shakes her head wildly, "I've known him from high school and nope, not my type."

"Why isn't he your type?" Holly asks.

"Yeah, why isn't he your type?" Brittany repeats, smirking at the Latina.

"He's not my type because he's a guy." Holly looks at Santana not sure what to say and looking completely confused, so Santana clears it up for her, "I'm a lesbian."

"OH! You go girl!" Holly says a little too loud. All three girls chuckle. "Well then, any ladies? Who do you think is hot at The Tank?"

Santana feels a sudden wave a heat hit her face and she reaches for her Long Island Iced Tea and takes a big sip; she can't seem to make eye contact with Brittany, "Oh, I haven't really noticed. I've only been to one class there." She finally gathers up the courage to look at Brittany after she replies and the younger blonde seems to have just the slightest pout. "Brittany's class actually!" She mentions and Brittany's pout disappears. "It was an amazing class, I can see why there's so much demand for her." She tries to change the subject.

"Oh, Brittany is the best," Holly exclaims.

"Nah," Brittany blushes, "I just like to have fun."

"And that's what makes you the best!" Holly reiterates. "The best instructor, the best body, and the most enthusiastic, but toughest trainer The Tank has!"

"Oh, come on now," Brittany is beginning to blush behind her ears and it's totally adorable.

"It's true though, everyone checks you out!" Holly says as Brittany shakes her head. "Boys… Girls…"

"No, it's true, I've seen it too," Santana says and both girls look at her.

"So which team do you play for Brittany?" Holly asks, "My team, or Santana's?"

Brittany looks between the two girls then gives a nonchalant shrug, "I like people. Not necessarily male or female, I fall for people, not gender."

"So you're bi?" Holly asks.

"I guess you can say that," Brittany replies.

Santana's eyes go wide _. I have a chance now. She's not straight. I should stop smiling like an idiot._ Santana looks up at Brittany, and she sees her staring back at her.

It's silent for a decent amount of time, enough time that if someone didn't say anything soon, it could get awkward.

"Gee," Holly breaks the quietness of the table, "Look at the time, I should get going, I have a hot date tonight with an Italian figure skater. You ladies have fun!" She winks at both of them, drops a 30 on the table and leaves.

The two girls are left staring at each other.

"So –"

"How come – "

Both girls speak at the same time. They both pause.

"You – "

"Did you – "

Both girls start laughing.

"You go ahead," Santana says first.

"I'm teaching another class at The Shark Tank next week, if you're interested in going. It's kickboxing."

"I would love to, if I'm not working."

"It's on a Saturday, so unless you have other plans, I don't think Artie will ask you to go in."

Santana nods, "Then count me in. Unless, I have another audition and Freak the Tree won't let me join because I'm late."

"I'll make sure he'll let you in, just try to catch my attention or even text me if you're going to be late."

"Okay! I'll be there!" Santana thinks for a bit, "How come you didn't tell me?" Brittany looks up from the table at into her chocolate brown ones. "How come you didn't tell me you were bi?"

Brittany shrugs and looks back at the table, "I wasn't sure how to tell you. I wasn't scared to tell you or anything, there just wasn't ever a good time."

"It's true you know," Santana says.

"What's true?"

"People check you out."

A smile pulls up on Brittany's face, "How do you know, Miss Lopez? Are you one of them?" she asks with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean like, I've seen people check you out and blatantly flirt with you," Santana says, avoiding the question.

"What? Like who?"

"For example, one very obvious contender is Cassie."

"Who's Cassie?" Brittany says as she squints her eyes trying to remember a Cassie.

"That blonde girl that's constantly flirting with you!"

"Hmm… which one?"

"The blonde – wait, what do you mean which one? You've noticed more than one? I knew it! See, you know that girls are hitting on you!"

Brittany laughs, "No, I mean which blonde? There are a lot of blondes that take my class but I don't recall any Cassie."

"Tall, amazing body, super toned, talks to you a lll…l..ot…t.t," Santana drags out. "I think one time she even asked you to squeeze her leg or something… Oh! And she even told me she checks you out, she made me look at your ass!"

"… and did you?" Brittany says in a seductive tone.

"Well, I – she – I didn't know who our instructor was – you were there and – she – she pointed you out – so I wanted to know and –"

"- and so you checked out your instructor's ass?" Brittany teases.

Santana covers her face with her hands and falls forward onto the table. _Oh my God this is embarrassing._

"I'm kidding, San," Brittany puts her hand on Santana's arm, shaking it a little, "Come on, I'm kidding." Santana looks up from her hands, "I'm honoured you checked me out." Brittany teases and laughs again, triggering Santana to face palm once more. Brittany lets out a loud laugh. Then Santana feels Brittany thread her fingers into her own. Her heart skips a couple of beats and she looks up. Brittany has reached across the table and is now holding her hand. "Cassie might have been the one asking me questions and flirting with me. She might be the one who checks me out and tries to catch my attention, but the fact that I have no idea who she is says something doesn't it?"

Santana can't seem to take her eyes off their hands. Her hands are so soft, so gentle. Nothing like a martial artists' hands should feel like. They should be rough and calloused, but they're not.

"All I remember from that one day you came into my workshop was me trying to teach you. I was teaching the class, but I was speaking to you."

"You mean you don't remember the girl you paired Quinn up with? The one that fell on you?"

"Oh! HER! That's Cassie? Yeah, I've seen her around. She asks me a lot of questions. She's kinda touchy. Kind of annoying." Brittany pulls her hand away and sits back into her chair. Flicking her wrist as to dismiss everything that is Cassie.

"So you won't go for her?" Santana questions.

"No, I don't think so. If I don't notice her, I'm sure there's a reason."

The girls look at each other with little smiles on their faces. Santana looking back down at her drink, glancing up once in a while to look at Brittany, and at times catching her looking at her too. Just then, Santana's phone vibrates on the table jerking both of them out of their comfortable daze.

"Excuse me," Santana says as she looks at her phone, "I have to take this, it's my agent."

Santana picks up the phone but doesn't leave her seat. Normally she would, but she feels comfortable enough with Brittany that she doesn't feel the need to.

It's Mercedes. She wants to know how Santana's roll as the lawyer was playing out for her and how her mystery girl was. She finds it really hard to talk about Brittany with her sitting right across from her. Brittany, on the other hand is trying not to look interested in the conversation. She keeps looking at her drink, swirling it around with her straw, turning her head to watch the TV; basketball is on. But that's all Brittany knows. It's basketball. She doesn't really follow sports. She likes to play them, but she doesn't keep herself updated. There are too many people, too many teams and coaches, and too many trades to keep up with a national sport.

Once in a while Santana would catch Brittany's eye when she says things like, "I'm having a drink with a friend," or, "I'm good – we're good," or when she stutters and says, "um – actually, now. No, Mercedes, right now. Like – yes – yes – that's right," then it's followed up with, "can you please stop that? It's not like that." Then, "No. No, Mercedes. Can you not? Ugh." She looks up at Brittany and Brittany catches her eyes and looks back at her from the TV. "My friend says 'hi'," Santana mumbles.

"Tell you friend I say 'hi' back."

Santana nods and goes back to her conversation, "She says 'hi' back. Are you happy now? I gotta go now okay? I'll call you later tonight." Followed by, "Stop it – stop it – shut up," she takes a quick glance at Brittany then back to the table, " – stop it – bye – I said bye – fuck, I'm hanging up. – okay, bye." She finally hangs up. "I'm sorry," she says to Brittany, "My friend didn't want to let me go, she wouldn't shut up." She says as she puts the phone in her purse.

"That's alright, sounded like a pretty intense conversation though."

"Not really, she's just really nosey."

Brittany flips her phone over to look at the time, "Oh, shit!"

"What is it?" Santana asks.

"I have 4 missed calls and 5 new text messages… They're all from Mike. I was supposed to meet him at the gym10 minutes ago for rehearsal." Brittany sends out a quick text then digs through her purse for some money. "I'm so sorry, Santana. I have to go."

As disappointed as Santana is, she understands. She gives a quaint little smile, and nods before she reaches into her purse for her wallet. "You go ahead," Santana states, "I'll cover the rest."

"No, you already paid for lunch last time, I have my credit card," Brittany says as she frantically tries to get the attention of one of the servers.

"Don't worry about it, Britt, you can get the next one," Santana says as she winks, "Besides, you're already late."

"Okay, thank you so much Santana and I'm so sorry. I owe you big," Brittany says as she leaves the table.

Santana feels her heart drop only a little because the blonde is no longer here. However, she feels kind of guilty that she's a slightly happy that Brittany had lost all track of time because of her. She looks in her wallet and takes out enough cash to cover the drinks and food, including the $30 Holly left. As she's counting it something slams into her back and she constricts her body so she doesn't fall forward into the table. Slim, pale arms wrap around her body with a tight squeeze. Blonde hair rests on her right shoulder. "Thank you," is whispered into the Latina's ear causing her to exhale and shiver just enough that she feels it, but not the one hugging her. As she takes a breath in, she smells her scent. Her scent of vanilla and what can only be described as 'Brittany.' The smell is sweet, with a light floral freshness afterwards. Brittany.

Santana tries to hold in her smile, but fails. After another quick squeeze, the 'Brittany' scent and pale arms disappear. Santana quickly turns around only to see blonde hair whisk away through the wooden doors of the pub. She heads home and calls Mercedes back and catches up with her high school friend but not before she yells at her for embarrassing her in front of her crush. Santana tells her everything that went on with the show, how Brittany (or, 'her crush' – as known to Mercedes) is on set with her sometimes, the incident with Puck, and how Brittany handled it. Their time at bar just now and, yes, she also told her how much her crush has blossomed to possibly like-hood; like-hood-a-lot. But since they're not officially dating, Santana has yet to release her name to the other girl over the phone.

* * *

Comments? Please be kind.


	11. Chapter 11

During the week Brittany and Santana weren't filming together, they continued to text each other about their day and had the occasional phone call. Although they are both busy with other projects and auditions, a day didn't go by where they didn't have some sort of communication with each other. Brittany was helping Mike a lot with choreography he was supposed to teach some actors on an upcoming film and Santana went to two auditions during the week and landed a role in a toothpaste commercial. Her smile is naturally beautiful and her teeth were fairly white to begin with, but she still had to wear whitening strips every night until the shoot.

Saturday rolls around and Santana is now waiting at The Shark Tank chatting with Quinn about the classes she taught and members registration versus drop in fees. Just as Santana was about to reach in her purse for her wallet, a voice from behind startles her.

"Don't take her money." Santana recognizes the voice because it makes her heart jump, but she turns around just to make sure it's the right person. It is. Both girls are looking at Brittany right now and neither of them are saying anything, so Brittany speaks up again. "Don't take her money," she repeats.

"But Britt –" Santana starts but gets cut off by the taller blonde.

"No. This class is on me and I don't want you paying for it since I'm the one that asked you to come."

Santana looks back at Quinn, maybe she would have an answer to whether or not she should pay. Quinn just shrugs her shoulders and says, "Whatever Brittany says goes today, she's the boss, it's her class."

"Told ya!" Brittany says cheerfully and takes Santana by the arm and drags her towards the mats.

They walk over to the corner where Brittany has her bag. She pulls out two pairs of gloves: solid black ones and white ones with black patterns on it. She holds them out to Santana asking her to choose which pair she wants to use. Santana chooses the black ones; they look less hardcore and it will draw less attention to her. She feels like any gloves with designs or patterns should only be worn if you have the skills to wear something that fancy. Most of the members participating in today's class only have black gloves as well. A few girls have pink, some have red. A few boys also have red and some with blue. Only a few of them have patterns like Brittany and Santana automatically assumes they're crazy good.

"Where are mine?" A voice from behind Santana speaks loudly and seductively. Brittany looks up from zipping up her bag and Santana turns around. There she is. Tall, blonde, with a devious smile, while wearing short spandex shorts and a sports bra. Her abs are rippling and Santana suddenly feels inadequate. She's only wearing yoga pants, a navy blue tank top, and a track jacket. Cassie looks Santana up and down, smiling, but this isn't a nice smile, it's more like a competitive smirk. Feeling confident in herself, Cassie looks at Brittany again and asks innocently yet seductively, "Don't I get gloves?"

Brittany doesn't even hesitate when she responds, "Yeah, sure," she says happily. "If you don't have your own gloves, the studio has some that you can borrow. They're in a box by the desk out front. You can ask Quinn to help you find your size."

Santana can't help but smirk a little. Cassie turns her head to look at the box of dirty, smelly, used gloves that multiple people have worn. Sure, they disinfect it and spray them down and air them out after each class, but you can never completely get rid of what's actually in there and some of them really just smell of old dry sweat even if they have been properly cleaned. She turns back around and frowns at the two other girls still looking at her. "You don't happen to have another pair I can borrow do you? We're basically the same size."

At this point, Santana is getting annoyed. Why won't Cassie leave already? She is however, impressed by how persistent the other blonde is.

Brittany speaks up, "No, I only have these." She lifts up her white gloves for her to see. "Those are hers," Brittany says while pointing at the black gloves. Santana is just as surprised as Cassie. She's just holding the gloves, looking at them, dumbfounded. "I was just holding it for her," Brittany continues casually as if those words were completely true.

"Oh," Cassie doesn't have much else to say. Then she nods, "Okay."

Before she can say anything else, Brittany looks up at the time. "Alright, I'll be right back. Class is starting in 5 minutes." She pats the gloves in Santana's hands as a signal for her to get ready as she leaves towards the washroom.

Santana snaps out of it and looks up at Cassie but Cassie speaks first, "I didn't know you took kickboxing."

"I don't – well, I do now. This is my first class," Santana admits.

"This is your first class and you already have your own gloves? A little over-confident don't you think?"

"Well I –"

"Alright everyone," Brittany interrupts. Let's put our gloves on the side against the wall and start on some warm up and stretches first."

Santana quickly turns around and puts her gloves over to the side with her water bottle and towel. Cassie runs to the change room quickly and reappears with her own pair of red gloves. Bitch has her own gloves.

Brittany takes everyone around the matted area into a jog. Some music is playing in the background to keep everyone pumped up. After everyone is warm, Brittany leads them all into a few stretches and Santana seriously can't help but check her out again. This time, however, Brittany looks back just at the right time and catches Santana. The Latina looks away quickly, but not quickly enough and Brittany lets off a knowing smile. Santana is blushing with embarrassment. She has been caught.

The room is now getting warm and Santana notices only Brittany and herself are still wearing jackets. She finally takes off her thin black track jacket and continues to stretch. She notices Brittany stare at her in her fitted tank top for a while before calling out another stretch. Afterwards, the class is asked to put on their gloves and partner up. Santana is having some difficulties with her gloves and Britany is there in a flash to help her strap them on properly. As soon as Brittany is finished another few girls are having trouble so Brittany goes tend to them. Right away, Cassie turns to Santana and asks to be her partner. Santana looks around nervously but then realizes she doesn't know anyone else here except the instructor and she can't ask her to be her partner, so she reluctantly agrees to partner up with the other, more intimidating blonde.

They start off taking turns punching and kicking a bag. Cassie knows exactly what she's doing. She's probably one of the best students here. Santana tries her best but she knows she doesn't look nearly as good as her partner. Brittany comes over and watches Cassie and nods in approval. It's Santana's turn and she does a jab with her right and hook with her left and it looks pretty decent. Then she does it on her other side; a jab with her left and a hook with her right and it looks awkward as hell.

"Your other side is much stronger," Brittany comments. "Are you a lefty?"

Santana looks up at her, short on breath, "Yeah, I am. My right side is so un-coordinated it's ridiculous," she laughs.

"Here, if you notice how when you hooked with your left, you twisted your hip more and you pivoted your back foot? When you did it with your right side, you used all arm. You barely moved your body. It puts a lot of stress on your shoulder, especially on your non-dominant side." Brittany walks behind Santana and puts one hand on each side of Santana's hip. "Now, when you throw a hook," Santana does, "Twist your hip like this." Brittany turns Santana's hips accordingly and Santana hits the bag in one solid motion. "And make sure you pivot your back foot," Brittany says as she lets go of her hips.

Just as Brittany is about to walk away to observe the other participants, Cassie speaks up quickly, "I think I'm doing it wrong too, can you help me?"

Brittany barely slows down and just replies, "I saw you, you looked great. Keep it up!" Santana can't help but smile a little bit internally.

Everyone does some more bag work for a while. Brittany stops the class every 2-3 minutes to show everyone new combination of techniques. Then they start doing partner workouts. One of the two would hold their hands up about head level and the other partner cross punches the other's glove. "1-2-3... shuffle right! 1-2-3... shuffle left!..." Brittany yells out to the class as she does the techniques herself without a partner. "Now jab-jab-cross. Jab with the left, cross with the right... GO! Jab-jab- cross, jab-jab-cross..." Brittany calls out. Then after 30 seconds, "Switch sides! Other partner! Keep the pace everyone! Jab-jab-cross!"

Brittany's energy is amazing. She doesn't have a partner but she is also doing double the workout. The only time she stops is to correct someone or when she switches techniques. This girl has amazing stamina. She finally takes off her black dri-fit Instructor's jacket and underneath is a loose fitted black Shark Tank racerback tank top with "Instructor" printed on the bottom, near the butt. Her bright pink sports bra is totally showing, but that's the way it was intended to look. Santana and Cassie both have a hard time not looking at their instructor.

Santana's arms are getting sore and her legs are starting to feel numb. Cassie on the other hand, is getting tired, but she's keeping up quite well with Brittany. The class ends with a cool down and a stretch-out. Everyone goes straight toward their water bottle and towels; completely exhausted. It was an intense work out but every person in that room has a smile on their face. The first person to walk up to Brittany is Cassie. Santana looks up to watch the interaction. She's not quite sure what they are saying but she doesn't particularly like what she's seeing.

Cassie is pointing to her lower back and upper thigh, close to her butt. Brittany is explaining something to her and right away, Cassie lies down on the floor. Her right leg is stretched out and her left leg is bent towards her chest. Brittany kneels down and places a hand on Cassie's right thigh then and pushes her left knee up and across her chest. Looks like Brittany is helping Cassie stretch, but the position they are in is almost sexual and even though Santana won't admit it, she gets a little jealous.

They stay in that position for about a minute before another student walks towards them. Realizing she has been watching the two blondes for the full minute, Santana decides to head to the change room for a quick rinse.

"Just do that a few times a day and take it easy," is what Brittany says to Cassie as she stands up and turns towards the other student with a question.

After a rinse and a change of clothes, Santana heads back out and sees Brittany, Quinn, Cassie, and a brunette man chatting at the desk. The man is about Brittany's height. There are only a few people left in the studio, most of the other participants have left. Santana was the only one in the change room when she came out of her shower.

"Hey, Santana!" Quinn calls out.

Santana smiles and walks towards the group crowding the desk. Brittany's face lights up, the curly haired brunette man smiles, and Cassie rolls her eyes. The man looks familiar. It's the guy she saw punching the bags the first time Santana walked into the studio.

"Santana, this is our dolphin, he's a regular at our studio. Dolphin, this is Santana, not a regular at the studio," Brittany introduces them cheerfully.

"Dolphin?" Santana asks with curiosity. "His name is dolphin?" she whispers to Quinn.

The curly haired man covers his face with his hands for a few seconds then looks back up at Santana. "My name is Blaine," the man says, "Blaine Anderson." He sticks his hand out to her and she takes it to officially greet him.

Santana turns to Quinn, silently asking her why they call him a dolphin. Quinn only shrugs and nods towards Brittany. Santana looks at Brittany, now silently asking her. Now everyone is looking at Brittany for an answer.

Brittany shakes her head in disappointment because no one else would explain it to Santana. "Dolphins are gay sharks. Blaine is gay. We are in the Shark Tank. Blaine is our gay shark. Blaine is our Dolphin," she says it so simply as if it really wasn't that difficult to understand.

Santana scrunches her face up confused for a moment, and then takes it in with a shrug, "Okay," she says, "works for me."

"When are you teaching your next class, Brittany?" Cassie quickly asks. Seemingly trying to stop Brittany and Santana's conversation.

"Thursday?" Brittany looks over to Quinn who checks the computer and nods, "Thursday," she confirms.

"Great! I'll see you then. Wouldn't miss your class for the world," Cassie says in a seductive tone that causes Santana to look away disgusted. "Well, ladies and gent, I have busy schedule to keep so I gotta head out." She picks up her bag and pulls on Brittany's arm just a little so Brittany is forced to lean into her. "See you Thursday," she says with a wink.

Brittany turns her head quickly towards Cassie and smiles, "See ya!"

Cassie walks out the door with a slight strut. Santana and Quinn both shake their heads in disbelief at how obvious she is.

"Are you going to come?" Brittany's voice snaps Santana out of her haze.

"Huh?"Santana is trying to decipher what Brittany is talking about.

"My Thursday class, are you coming?"

"I'll try," Santana says. "I guess it depends if I have to work or if I have any other auditions that day.

Just then, a phone goes off. All three girls and a Blaine check their phones. "It's mine," Blaine says as he swipes to answer his phone and walks away from the girls.

The girls are having a little bit of small talk, mostly Quinn and Santana teasing Brittany at how oblivious she is about Cassie's flirting. Blaine comes back with a sigh as he puts his phone back in his right pocket.

"What's wrong?" Brittany asks, quickly picking up on her dolphin's frustration.

"Oh nothing," he sighs but then he continues, "My boyfriend is coming into town and we realized he doesn't have a place to stay. We can't stay at his house because his dad feels awkward if I slept over, and he can't stay at my house because my brother is in town and he took over my room. I'm sleeping on the couch. He said he has a friend with an apartment and lives by herself and thinks we can stay over there, but I'd hate to interrupt other people's lives; especially if I don't know them. He's supposed to call her now to ask."

Just then, Santana feels a buzz in her back pocket. What are the odds? He looks at her caller ID and shakes her head, "No fucking way." She turns to the group that's looking at her confused. She picks up her phone with, "What is it porcelain?" She walks a few feet away from the group and all the group can hear is, "Nope. Nope. No. No way. Yes I know, but no! What about your brother? Stay with him! I don't care. No, and don't call me again." She hangs up and walks back towards the group with a look that can kill.

"Wow, who was that?" Quinn asks.

"It was pasty gay, Kurt," she sends a death glare at Blaine, who looks up at her in shock, "This gay shark's boyfriend."

Quinn and Brittany both laugh at the coincidence. Blaine is turning red with embarrassment. He really hates asking other people for favours.

"I'm guessing I'm not staying at Kurt's friend's apartment?" Blaine asks shyly, barely glancing up at Santana.

"Nope," she quickly answers. Blaine sighs as he checks his text message on his phone. Brittany feels sad for Blaine and pouts her famous pout and looks over at Santana. "No!" Santana quickly says as she tries to look away from the tall blonde's adorable pout. "I don't need gay face and boyfriend fucking on my couch and making a mess. That's just nasty. And the noise. Oh God, I do NOT want to be hearing that all night long."

"You can stay with me," Brittany says quickly with no hesitation. All three other group members look up at Brittany in surprise. "Yeah, you can stay with me and Dolphin and his boyfriend can stay at your place."

As much as Santana wants to, she's hesitant, "But... but... my bed, my couch... I'd have to decontaminate or buy new furniture; I don't have money for that."

Blaine quickly speaks up before she gives a solid 'no.' "I have a sleeping bag! I even have an air mattress! Kurt and I will sleep on your floor. We won't even go near your bedroom and only sit on your couch if we are watching TV –" Santana is about to interrupt but Blaine puts in his last words, "only watching TV. Nothing else. All sexual encounters will be done on my stuff. I promise." Santana looks up at Brittany. Brittany is just nodding. Then the brunette looks back at Blaine, "Please, you can trust me. You have my word."

Santana lets out a sigh and thinks about it. "You can trust Blaine," Brittany interrupts the Latina's thoughts. "You can always trust a dolphin, besides, we'll have so much fun!"

"How long?" Santana snaps her eyes at Blaine.

"Only 4 nights, then my brother is gone on Friday and we can move back to my place."

"Fine," Santana huffs, hiding that little bit of giddiness she has at the thought of sleeping over at Brittany's.

"Yay!" Brittany says as she gives a little skip.

"Thank you so much," Blaine gives Santana a quick hug but releases before Santana could push him off. "I'll text Kurt now!"

"If I find any stains on ANY part of my apartment I will kill you both and the next stains I'll be cleaning out will be your blood stains."

Blaine gives a Santana a genuinely scared look and gives an understanding nod before he goes back to his text then looks up at Santana, "He's flying in Monday afternoon."

"Fine," Santana huffs out, "I'll start packing my stuff when I get home."

"Yay! I'm so excited," Brittany exclaims, "I get a roomie for four nights!"

Santana can't help but smile through her frustration at Brittany's behaviour. "Alright, I gotta get out of here now before any more demands are made on me. Dolphin, I'll see you tomorrow when you come over and I'll give you a run-down of the rules. Britt, I'll call you before I come over."

Both of them nod. Quinn has gone back to work after answering a phone call and is now typing away on the computer but looks up and waves at the Latina.

* * *

Monday comes around and Santana is at the studio filming another scene with Holly and it goes great. Santana quickly changes so she can get home in time for Kurt and Blaine to arrive. Holly asks her what her rush is and Santana explains to her the situation and how she's staying with Brittany for a few days. Holly is surprisingly exciting about this even though she has nothing to do with it. Santana finds it weird that this girl is so optimistic about her and Brittany spending time together. They say their goodbyes and she heads home.

When she arrives home, she sees Kurt and Blaine sitting at the stairway of her apartment with one large luggage and two backpacks and a large box. She gets the boys to follow her up to her unit. She doesn't help them with anything. Why would she? She's letting them stay at her place for free.

Once they're inside they drop their backpacks and luggage and follow Santana around as she gives the tour. "Living room. Kitchen. Bathroom." She points to all three, her place isn't that big so she can show them around barely walking anywhere. "Bedroom, off limits! Got it?" Both boys nod. "I've moved the couch back and the coffee table to the side so you'll have a spot for your mattress. Kitchen is yours as long as everything is washed and clean by the time I get back and considering I've known lady face here for a while now, I'm expecting this place to be spotless." Kurt rolls his eyes and nods. "No sex on the floor, couch, tables, or against any of my walls," she points to Blaine, "Right?"

"Yes, Santana. I gave you my word."

"Good, because I have cameras installed and if I turn it on at any given time and I see you guys doing the dirty on any of my stuff, I'm kicking you out so fast, you won't be able to gather your clothes." She's lying. She has no cameras installed; she only has Blaine's promise. Because seeing them have sex? Ew! No thank you.

The two boys look at each other questionably, wondering if Santana is telling the truth. It's best that they do as they're told. Kurt knows what kind of person Santana is and Blaine is already afraid of her.

Santana goes into her room to get her mini suitcase and gives the boys a single spare key. She let them know that she still has her own key and will walk into the apartment at any time so they better be on their best behaviour. Again, she probably wouldn't if she didn't have to. She might be blinded by Kurt's pale ass if she walked in on them doing it. The boys thank her one last time and she leaves. She calls Brittany to tell her she's on her way over as soon as she gets into her car.

* * *

When she gets to Brittany's house and rolls her suitcase up her driveway, she starts to get nervous. She stops at her front door and rings the doorbell. At this point, she doesn't know what she's feeling. She's nervous. She's giddy. Her palms are clammy and her breathing is picking up. Brittany opens the door with a big smile and Santana feels comforted by the familiar face and walks into the house, dragging her luggage behind her.

"Welcome to your home for the next 4 days, Roomie!"

Santana looks around the house again. Nothing has changed. It's still pretty empty and very clean. Brittany shows Santana to her room upstairs. It's the first guest room. It's a nice size, the sheets are bright yellow and so are the curtains. It's a little too shiny for Santana, but it's fine when the light are off. She feels a little sad that she has to sleep in another room. She was hoping she could bunk with Brittany, but then again, maybe they're not at that part of their friendship yet. Besides, what's the point of having guest rooms if you can utilize it, right?

"Which bathroom do I use?" Santana asks as she pulls out a bag of toiletries.

"You can just use mine through those doors over there," she points. "My washroom is probably the cleanest since the other one is hardly used and I wouldn't want you to go all the way downstairs to use that one."

"But isn't the other one in your bedroom?" Santana asks.

"Yup, but that's fine. I don't close or lock my door when I sleep, so feel free to come in whenever you need to."

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude on your sleep or wake you up if I have an early shoot. I'm okay with using the downstairs bathroom."

"No, please. Don't even worry about it. I'm usually up pretty early anyways, and I'm not a terribly light sleeper so even if you flush, most likely I won't wake up."

"Alright, but if I get too noisy, you have every right to tell me to go downstairs."

Brittany shakes her head but says "Okay," anyways.

"What should we have for dinner?" Santana asks, "My treat!"

"Shit!" Brittany blurts out and runs down the stairs. She opens her oven and smoke fills the kitchen. She quickly opens the windows. Santana quickly follows suit and sees Brittany take something out of the oven. "We were supposed to have lasagna but it looks like I'll be ordering in tonight," Brittany says quietly with a pout.

"Aw, I'm sorry," Santana says copying Brittany's pout.

"Nah, it's not your fault. I got too caught up cleaning and I totally forgot about it. I was supposed to take it out even before you got here. I was going to surprise you for dinner since you treated me out to eat twice already," Brittany sighs.

"Well, I'm sure it would have tasted great. I can see the beautiful layers that – well, are kind of dried out and darkened now – but it's still a beautiful lasagna." She says trying to cheer up the usually bubbly blonde.

Brittany tosses the glass pan into the sink gently, looking completely frustrated with herself. "I'm so stupid. I should have set a timer."

"Hey," Santana says as she walks right up to the blonde, "It's okay. I totally appreciate the gesture. This is a very common mistake, it happens to everyone, you're not stupid." Brittany still doesn't say anything and keeps looking at the dried up looking pasta sitting in the sink. Santana pulls Brittany's arm gently to turn her around and tries to catch her eyes, "Why don't we make one together tomorrow? You can show me what you did and how you made it look so nice."

Brittany looks up and meets her eyes. Santana gives a half smile and a half nod then Brittany gives a half smile and a half nod as well, "Okay." The blonde finally says.

"So what are we having today? Pizza? Sushi? Chinese?" Santana asks.

"There's a Japanese place a few blocks from here. We can take a walk and order take-out? That way we can be out of the house for a while. Get some fresh air. Who knows how much smoke we just inhaled."

Santana is happy that Brittany can joke about the mishap. "Sounds perfect, I could use a walk," Santana says as she heads towards the door.

The girls take a nice, refreshing walk to pick up their sushi and rice bowl they're planning on sharing. They sit down on the couch and watch some TV. While they make their way through the food. K.O. Kandi is on TV and Santana asks Brittany to stop flipping through the channels.

"Aw man, I don't want to watch this," Brittany sighs.

"Why not? Aren't you in it?"

"Yes, that's why I don't want to watch it. I don't like watching myself on T.V."

"But don't you video tape yourself all the time?"

"I do, but that's only for practice. So I can see what I'm doing wrong. I can't do that now that it's on national television. I'm always finding mistakes." Santana doesn't take her eyes off the T.V. set. She's watching a fight scene as Brittany speaks. "See look at that! My leg is bent! It's so ugly! What the hell kind of jump is that? Sloppy."

Santana turns her head to look at the girl next to her. She has her arms crossed over her chest and she's leaning so far back into the couch that she might as well be on the other side of it. "What are you talking about? This is awesome! You look so good!"

Brittany just shakes her head, "They should've told me how ugly it was and reshot it."

"Can you stop it? Stop being so hard on yourself. I think it looks great okay? You're so talented! People would kill to be able to move like you." Brittany just shrugs. "Besides, it's totally hot," Santana adds quietly, hoping Brittany doesn't hear her, but a part of her also hoping she does. She turns look at Brittany and she sees a small smirk on the other girl's face but she's not looking at her. She definitely heard her.

After they finish dinner, Brittany does the dishes. She doesn't let Santana into the kitchen for today because she's embarrassed she'll see the burnt dried up pasta again. While Brittany is doing the dishes, Santana goes to wash up. She's fresh and clean and on the couch. Brittany goes to the bathroom to do the same thing before coming back out and also sits on the couch. Santana is wearing a black tank top and black and blue boy shorts. Brittany is wearing a pink t-shirt and baby blue basketball shorts. They talk a little bit about work. How Santana's toothpaste commercial went. Brittany tells Santana she has a beautiful smile when the Latina flashed her pearly whites when Brittany had asked. Santana can't help but scrunch up her nose and smile harder after Brittany tells her that. They talk comfortably for a while longer and by 1am, they decide it's time to sleep. Brittany gets up from the couch quickly and sees Santana struggle.

"Are you okay?" Brittany asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just – I didn't think it would hit me this hard, so late."

"What? What are you talking about? Who hit you?" Brittany looks concerned.

"You did," Santana smirks then glares at the tall blonde.

Brittany opens her eyes wide and her jaw drops, "I – when did I – how – I'm –"

Santana laughs, "You hit me with your hardcore work out on Saturday. I am so sore! When I didn't get sore yesterday I thought maybe I was more in shape than I thought. But this morning, I barely rolled myself out of bed. Walking is fine, but stairs, and sitting down, and standing up, and laughing, and lifting my arms is killing me."

Brittany laughs, "Oh, man. I'm so sorry. You should stretch it out. Keep moving your body and the soreness will go away faster."

"Or it will kill me," Santana says as she stretches out her back, "Was that what you were showing Cassie? How to stretch out?"

"Oh stop," Brittany says, "Yes, she said she hurt her leg doing some kicks, but there's nothing going on between us."

"I never said there was," Santana raises an eyebrow, "unless there is and you're just trying to hide it," she jokes.

"No, not hiding anything," Brittany says with her hands up, then points to the girl in front of her, "Take it back!"

"Nope," Santana says with a shake of the head.

"Take it back!" Brittany says again, louder this time.

"Nope." Brittany starts inching towards Santana as Santana backs up. Brittany begins chasing her. Santana screams and runs around the coffee table. "This isn't fair! I'm sore!"

"Then take it back!" Brittany says as she grabs a hold of Santana's waist.

"Never!" Santana screams out as she kicks and tries to release herself from Brittany's tight bear hug.

Brittany does a light judo trip and Santana loses her balance. Brittany slowly guides Santana to the floor as the brunette Latina falls down gracefully. Brittany could have easily let her fall like she would normally do at competitions, but this is Santana, she would never hurt Santana if she could help it. Brittany straddles her and pins her arms above her head. She tickles her once. Santana laughs out then winces in pain.

"Take it back!" Brittany says again and tickles her once more.

"N- no – ow – ow stop – ha ha stop – ow," Santana is in pain but can't stop laughing at the same time.

Brittany can't help but giggle at Santana's cute laughter and struggling winces. "Say it!" Brittany says again.

"Say – ow – what?" Santana teases as she laughs through her pain.

"Say there's nothing between us!" Brittany stops her tickling just as she realizes what she had just said.

Santana stops as well and looks straight into Brittany's shocked eyes. "I don't want to," she says seriously as she shakes her head lightly.

They're both looking into each other's eyes, trying to find something. Trying to find an explanation for what they're feeling.

"I mean – nothing between me and Cassie," Brittany lets out, not breaking eye contact with the girl laying under her.

"Good," Santana replies.

They sit still for a while. Brittany is on top of her, straddling her with her hands on her perfect waist. Santana's shirt has lifted just a bit from the struggle; just enough that Brittany's right hand is on skin. After a few moments, Brittany looks up at the wall clock, then back down at Santana. "We should get some sleep," the blonde says as she gets up off of the other girl. Santana quickly misses the weight of Brittany being on top of her. Brittany reaches her hand out and helps Santana stand up. She winces as she gets up slowly. Her abs are extra sore from laughing. They both walk upstairs in silence. They stop at the guest room. "If you're still sore tomorrow, I can – I can give you a – I can give you something that can help with the pain," Brittany stutters.

Santana nods with a smile and heads into her room, "Goodnight, Britt."

"Goodnight," Brittany says as she walks down the hall, "San?" she calls as she turns around mid-way to her room. Santana pokes her head out of her room. "Sweet dreams," Brittany says sweetly, "I'll see you in the morning."

"Sweet dreams," Santana says quiet enough that Brittany can hear, but it's to the point that it's almost a whisper.

Santana closes the door to her room and lies down in her bed. It smells a little like Brittany. More like Brittany's laundry, not full on Brittany, but enough that Santana hugs one of the three pillows and drifts off into a wonderful sleep. That night, she dreams of herself holding hands with a tall beautiful blonde, ice skating at a pond with... what the hell? Unicorns. Unicorns eating grass behind them. Since when does Santana Lopez dream of unicorns? It doesn't bother her though, it's still a great dream.

* * *

Comments? Reviews?


	12. Chapter 12

AN: Sorry guys, this is a short chapter. I had quite the scare last night. The flash drive I save my story on crashed and I lost everything. My folder went from 400KB to 4KB. I was so sad because I haven't been home so I've been using a friends computer and only have the newest chapters saved on USB. Luckily, I managed to retrieve it after someone did some computer magic. I'm so grateful. I wouldn't have been able to reproduce the chapters I've written so far, and I wouldn't have been able to publish anything for at least another week. But here it is! I hope you guys like it

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

Santana wakes up suddenly in the middle of the night because she has to pee. She had too much water with dinner. She reaches over for her phone so she has a little bit of light and makes her way down the hall as quietly as possible. It's 4am and she doesn't want to wake up Brittany. She reaches Brittany's room and the door is half open. She slowly opens it and steps inside. Using the light on the screen of her phone – not the flashlight because that's too bright, even for Santana. She makes her way to the washroom and closes the door before turning the light on. After she's finished and her hands have been washed she slowly opens the washroom door. The light is still on. She's about to turn it off but she takes a quick glance towards the bed first. Brittany is sleeping on her side, facing her. She is deep in her sleep. Santana can tell by her breathing. She's beautiful. She looks so peaceful. She's sleeping on the left side of her queen size bed, cuddled up in her blanket, hair sprawled over her shoulder and on the pillow. The light from the washroom finally catches up to Brittany and she begins to scrunch up her face. Santana quickly turns off the light so it doesn't wake her up completely. She makes her way back out into the hallway and into her own room. Something has hit her. That moment. That single moment when she saw Brittany sleeping, she knew it was way more than a crush. Santana has fallen for this girl. She has fallen hard. She wants to be with her.

* * *

The next morning, Santana wakes up and looks at the clock sitting next to the bed, 9:27am. Rays of sun are peeking through the curtains ever so slightly. She turns her face back into the pillow and smooshes her face down. She breathes in. That's right! She's at Brittany's. Wondering if the blonde is awake, Santana decides to get up. She slowly rolls out of bed. Her body isn't aching as much but her thighs, abs, back, and shoulders still do. Okay, maybe she's still crazy sore. She wonders if the pain will ever go away. She heads to Brittany's bedroom but it's empty. Quickly, she washes up and heads down stairs where she finds Brittany sitting at the table playing Sudoku, with a plate of eggs, orange juice, and a banana set in front of her. Her hair is in a loose bun on the top of her head.

"Morning," Santana says at the entrance of the kitchen.

Brittany turns around and smiles at Santana's bed head, "Good morning, Sunshine. How did you sleep?"

"So good. Thanks again for letting me crash," she says looking around the kitchen.

"Please stop thanking me. I like having a roommate." Brittany catches Santana looking around, "Do you want breakfast? I can make toast, and eggs, and... cereal. As you know, I'm not such a great cook."

"Cereal is fine," Santana says, "I can grab it myself," she looks around and realizes she has no idea where anything is. "Just tell me where everything is," she adds.

Brittany tells her where the bowls and spoons are, the milk is obviously in the fridge and then Santana opens the cupboard to grab the cereal.

"Really?" Santana's shoulders drop as she looks over to the blonde, still trying to finish the puzzle.

"What?" Brittany turns around and leans her arm on the back of her chair.

"You only have Lucky Charms?"

"I love Lucky Charms. I usually have two other kinds of cereal but that one is the only one left because I ate all the marshmallows and it's no good anymore," she says with a shrug and goes back to her puzzle. "I can make you eggs if you want."

Santana laughs to herself and shakes her head, "Nope, cereal is fine. It's perfect the way it is now." She pours herself a bowl of marshmallow-less Lucky Charms, she sees two marshmallows Brittany must have missed and picks them out. She then pours the milk and puts it back into the fridge before she makes her way to the table. She puts the two heart shaped marshmallows on the puzzle Brittany is looking at and her eyes light up.

"Oh! I missed some." She picks them up and tosses them into her mouth, "Yum." She looks at Santana and the big bowl of plain cereal. "How can you eat that? There's no marshmallows," Brittany asks confused.

"This is the only way to eat them," Santana replies as she takes another bite. "The marshmallows are way too sweet for me this early in the morning."

Brittany pouts, "But they're the best part! That's why people buy them."

"Well, if I ever buy a box, I'll give you all the marshmallows."

Brittany nods with a grateful smile and finishes off her eggs. The girls sit in silence while they eat. Brittany is still working on her puzzle and Santana is checking email on her phone. It's comfortable, as if it happens every morning. "Done!" Brittany shouts as she slams down her pen. Santana jumps a bit from the sudden noise and looks up at her. "Sudoku," Brittany explains, "I'm done. Man this one was a hard one."

"You play that a lot?" Santana asks, just finishing off the last of her sugary milk.

"Every morning."

Santana smiles to herself and shakes her head. _And she thinks she's stupid?_ Santana wonders why the blonde would even think that about herself. She wants to slap each and every person who has called her that. She feels surprisingly protective of her right now, even though Brittany can obviously protect herself.

"What are your plans today?" Santana asks as she's about to bring her bowl to the sink. She struggles to push herself off the chair, her thighs are still aching.

Brittany grabs the bowl from her hand and stands up. She heads to the sink while replying, "I'm going to a two hour open gymnastics training with Mike. Want to come?"

Santana laughs out loud, "Okay, number one, I can't do gymnastics. Number two, I can barely move. You go ahead."

Brittany feels bad leaving Santana in the house by herself, "You can come still, but you might be bored. Or... you can just hang out here and play with Lord Tubs – but he doesn't really play. He'll just watch you or maybe he'll walk away and sleep. What do you want to do?"

"Don't worry about me. I was planning on heading over to my apartment. Will texted me last night and told me they were going to send an addition to the script. They want to shoot one more scene with Puck and I –" she shudders and she says that name. "Just a short one but they want to get it done as soon as possible, so I have to go in tomorrow for a few hours to finish up. Then I'm done with Hammer's Time." Suddenly, Santana notices that Brittany's bottom lip is sticking out more than usual. She's pouting. Why is she pouting? "What's wrong?" Santana asks.

"I don't like you working with Puck," Brittany says quietly. "I don't like the way he treated you."

"But you made it all better, Britt. You got back at him for me. It was awesome! I still haven't thanked you for that yet."

"It's not enough. I still have this feeling that he'll do something that will make you upset."

"Well, even if he does, it's my last scene ever with him... Hopefully. If I'm back before you are, can I watch some more of your videos?" Santana asks, changing the subject.

"Yeah sure, help yourself to whatever DVDs you want. Here," Brittany reaches into her pocket and takes out a key, "I giveith you in and out privileges."

"Thanks, Britt." Santana hold her hand up for Brittany to toss her the single key. Brittany does but Santana misses and the key drops to the floor.

"Hmm... I'm not sure I trust you with my key anymore," Brittany jokes.

"Sorry," Santana says as she bends over to pick it up. She forgot how sore she was for a few moments, and groans as she gets up. "I'll put it on my own key ring right now. I promise I won't play catch with your keys though."

As if not even paying attention to the other girl's last line – because of course Brittany trusts Santana with her key, that's not even a question. She only notices the groan. "Still sore?"

"Yeah, a little bit. It's a lot less than the other day though," Santana says as stretches her back, feeling her abs tighten so she rubs them lightly.

Brittany looks hesitant for a moment but then decides to speak up, "I feel bad. I shouldn't have pushed you so hard. I want you to be able to come to my class on Thursday. How about –" she stops as if reconsidering her words. Santana looks at her, waiting for her to continue. And she does after a moment of thought, " – how about I make it up to you?"

"And how would you do that? Please don't make me work out more, I may die."

Brittany laughs, "No. Well, working out can help too but," she steps forward towards Santana. "I have this heating cream that helps relax sore muscles, you can – you can use it – or like – maybe – if you want I can – I can help you."

 _Is she offering me a massage? Because if she is, HELL YES!_ "How can you help me? Are you going to give me a massage, Miss Pierce?"

Santana notices a slight blush running up Brittany's neck and into her cheeks, "I mean like, you really have to rub that stuff in and – like – it might hurt a bit – and – like if you feel pain you might not go hard enough for that stuff to work."

 _Wanky._ "So, basically you're telling me you want to rub me hard tonight?" Santana blurts out before her brain has time to stop her. _That was inappropriate. Now it's awkward. Great going, Santana._

Brittany's mouth opens and her eyes widen. It looks like she's trying to find words but they're completely lost. But a moment later, as if feeling brave, Brittany looks into Santana's eyes and gives a devilish grin. "If you let me," She speaks so seductively it brings a wave of heat through Santana's body. Now it's Santana's turn to lose her words.

Brittany gets ready to head out to meet Mike. She's dressed in a hoodie and sweat pants. Her hair is tied up in a high pony and she's carrying a change of clothes in her backpack. She says goodbye to Santana and is headed towards the door when Santana stops her, "Do you need a ride?"

Brittany thinks about it for a moment. She does have a car, but she doesn't drive it very often. She usually walks or takes public transit. She doesn't like driving very much, she'll only do it if she really has to. "If you don't mind? That would be great, and I can get a ride back from Mike."

"I wouldn't offer if I minded," Santana says as she grabs her keys. "I'm going out anyways. If Mike can't drive you just give me a call and I can pick you up, it's no problem at all."

Brittany agrees and Santana drops her off the same time Mike arrives. He waves to the brunette in the car as Brittany gets out. Santana quickly waves back before driving away. She heads home to pick up the script. She's a little hesitant to open her door, afraid of what she might see. However, if she doesn't surprise the boys she won't be able to catch them doing something prohibited. It's a lose-lose situation for her. Once she opens the door, she finds both boys eating at the dining table and reading the paper. _They're so boring._ She greets them quickly and thanks them for being decent. She picks up her mail. The script has arrived and she's going to take it back to Brittany's to read it over. On her way home, she drops by the grocery store to buy some ingredients to make lasagna as well as a box of lucky charms just for Brittany.

When she gets back, she sets the new box of Lucky Charms on the kitchen table and starts reading her script. It's just a few extra lines to enhance the storyline between her and Puck's character. She finds more evidence that proves Holly's character innocent. She even convinces the little boy and his parents to be a witness, which evidently wins her the case. As she's studying the lines, her eyes are getting blurry. She looks at the time and she's been looking at the script, trying to memorize it for the past hour. It's time for a break. She slips in one of Brittany's DVDs and watches it. It's full of choreographed fight sets between Brittany and a few other people. They're usually in casual sportswear but sometimes they're in costume. Whether it's a medieval costume, a spy costume, or a Sailor Moon costume, Brittany is in it fighting someone. The stuff Brittany does is crazy. She falls off horses, jumps off buildings, gets kicked and flips over landing on her back, she even falls down a flight of concrete stairs. Santana cringes at some scenes. How can Brittany do that to herself? Her poor body. She lies down and continues watching but as much as she wants to watch, her eyes start to feel heavy, so she closes them for just a second.

* * *

She wakes up to find a blanket over her. The TV is shut off and there's a cat lying in front of it instead. She sits up and looks to her left. Brittany is sitting on the couch, leaning against the other arm rest, munching out of a bowl next to her, and writing something in a notebook.

"How long was I out for?" Santana asks, her voice still raspy from her nap.

"I got home about two hours ago."

"Oh my gosh, why didn't you wake me?" Santana asks, stunned that she napped for three hours.

"You looked so peaceful, and happy. I didn't want to. Plus - " She pauses to look at the girl at the other end of the couch, "you were talking in your sleep and I didn't want to interrupt. What were you dreaming about anyway?"

That's so embarrassing. What WAS she dreaming about?

 _Oh Shit._

Flashes of her dream are coming back to her. She blames the DVD. She had a dream that she was holding a tournament inside of Brittany's house and Brittany had to compete in it. Each room was a different category. So, in the guest bedroom they were doing choreographed fighting with weapons. Santana was given a sword and was told to perform. She told everyone she was just running the tournament and not competing in it, and everyone just shook their head and encouraged her to perform. In the living room was solo performances. There were way too many people there so she left for Brittany's bedroom, hoping the people won't make a mess. Suddenly, she was dressed in a white karate gi and she's holding a black belt. She's pushed onto the bed where they were holding the sparring divisions. Everyone was telling her to put her belt on and start fighting. Her opponent, Brittany. Brittany was standing on the bed, ready to fight. Santana was fumbling to get her belt on. Putting it on completely wrong. Brittany shakes her head and takes the belt off her so she can redo it properly. Suddenly, the people are gone and it's just the two of them. The room is dark, only the light from the washroom is on. The tournament is over. She missed her fight. Instead of helping Santana tie her belt, she's removing her uniform completely. Brittany's lips crash into hers and she finds herself now lying on the bed with Brittany hover over her. The beautiful blonde looking at her from above, her hair draping down the sides of her face like silk curtains. Their lips come together again, she feels herself getting sucked into a pleasurable daze. That's when she wakes up.

"Do you remember?" Brittany's voice breaks Santana out of remembering her dream.

"Kind of?" Santana scrunches her face. She tells her most of what she remembered. Only up until her fighting opponent being the blonde herself. She wouldn't dare tell her the rest.

Brittany can't help but laugh at the ridiculous dream. "No wonder you said my name," Brittany says with a nod. Now seeming to understand.

"I what? – I did? – what else did I say?" Oh God. Santana hopes she didn't say too much in her dreaming state. She didn't want to freak Brittany out.

Brittany shrugs, "Let's see... There was a lot of mumbling and gibberish, but the words I heard clearly were, No, perform, fight, belt, and Brittany."

 _Oh thank God._

* * *

Santana shows Brittany the ingredients she bought for their lasagna and together they cook it perfectly. Brittany is sure to set a timer this time. They work well in the kitchen together. Brittany boils the pasta while Santana cuts up the vegetables. They take turns layering out the pasta sheets, cheese, ground beef, and vegetables. They sit down at the dining room table and enjoy their first creation together. They talked about their day, how Brittany's training went, and what Santana's new scene is about.

Later that evening, both girls are on the couch. Santana is going over her lines for tomorrow and Brittany is taking notes; trying to choreograph something for her and Mike to work on.

"Have you ever liked him?" Santana suddenly says, out of the blue.

"Huh? Who?"

"Mike. Have you ever liked him?"

Brittany scrunches up her face and shakes her head, "No. Never thought of him that way. He's my work buddy. We have a great time together, and we have very good working chemistry but that's it. I've never thought of him sexually, if that's what you mean."

Santana just nods and goes back to her lines. Deciding to change the subject, she asks Brittany to read the lines out with her. Brittany playing Pucks' part. After running through the lines a few dozen times and Brittany trying to act like the biggest douchebag she can, Santana is done. She feels ready for tomorrow and she's kind of sick of practicing.

"Ah-choo! – ow!" Santana sneezes and her abs tense up which causes the dull ache to come back.

Brittany can't help be giggle. That was so cute. She gets up and goes up stairs. Not more than a minute later she comes back down with a tube of lotion. "Which muscle hurts the most?" Brittany says as she opens up the tube.

Santana looks up at her. Now she's feeling nervous and panicky. "You don't have to, Britt. I'm okay."

"I want to. Plus, you need to feel better so I can torture you again on Thursday," the blonde says with an evil smirk.

"Okay, probably my upper arms." Since Santana is already wearing a tank top, this would be the easiest place for Brittany to massage. Brittany squeezes the lotion into the palms of her hands and rubs her hands together to heat it up.

"Come here," Brittany says as she leans up against the arm rest. One leg up on the couch against the back and the other one dangling off the edge. Her legs are spread enough for Santana to sit between them. She starts rubbing the lotion on Santana's left arm first. It feels nice and warm and relaxing. Then Brittany starts putting more pressure on it. Now Santana understands what Brittany meant by going hard. It hurts, but not enough to ask her to stop. It's a good type of pain. After Brittany is finished with one arm she moves on to the next one. The lotion has a minty smell to it. A mix between toothpaste and an old lady. Santana winces just a bit when Brittany puts more pressure, but again, it's a comfortable type of pain. "Next," Brittany calls out. Suddenly causing Santana to realize neither of them has said anything in the last 10 minutes. She was just enjoying the massage.

Santana hesitates to tell Brittany the next part that's sore. Brittany has already squeezed more lotion into her hands and is ready, "My lower back?" Santana says sheepishly.

"Lie down," Brittany says unfazed by Santana's shyness. Santana does as she's told. "Unless you want me to get your shirt dirty, I suggest you lift it up."

Santana isn't a shy person when it comes to her body. She is very comfortable and confident with the way she looks, but for some reason, she's shy when it comes to Brittany. She lifts her shirt up just a bit. Brittany uses the backs of her wrist to push her shirt up higher. Up to the bra line. She rubs her hands together again to warm up the lotion then applies it on Santana's beautiful tanned back.

Santana squeals a little bit when the lotion hits her at first. It's a little bit cold even though Brittany has already warmed it up. But then it gets warmer and more comfortable. Brittany is straddling her butt, her knees on each side of her waist. She enjoys having brittany's weight on her. It's comforting. Then Brittany rubs harder and puts more pressure on her sore muscles.

"Ow – ow," Santana calls out.

"Sorry, but if you want it to feel better, I gotta do it like this," Brittany says as she continues to rub the lotion deep into her muscle tissues. Santana has her forehead against her arms, facing the couch cushions. She closes her eyes tightly to refrain from squirming from the pain. Then she feels Brittany slow down. Her warm palms run up and down her back then up her sides and down again. "Done!" Brittany calls out and pulls the other girl's shirt back down.

Damn, Santana was feeling super relaxed and super comfortable. "Mmm, thanks, Britt," Santana mumbles.

"Anywhere else? Since I already have my hands covered in this stuff."

Santana thinks for a moment, "Umm, no. I'm okay."

"Okay," Brittany says as she squeezes Santana's sides, tickling her.

Santana laughs, but just as quickly tenses up, "Ow."

"Somewhere else still sore?" Brittany asks with a smirk. Santana can't see her smirking though.

"No," Santana says, not willing to tell the truth.

"Okay," Brittany gets up off of her and stands next to the couch and watches as Santana turns around. "Are you sure?" Brittany asks again as she leans forward pretending to tickle the brunette again.

Santana flinches and shrieks while holding her stomach, "Okay, okay, stop. Yes, I'm still in pain."

"Where?" Brittany asks with a single eyebrow raised. Santana feels herself blush. Knowing that the Latina is shy, Brittany decided to step up and be the brave one. "Lie down on your back." Santana's eyes widen in shock and nervousness. "Come on, it's not like I haven't seen stomachs before, half the girls that take my class only wear sports bras. Look! I have a stomach too!" Brittany lifts up her shirt, only showing half her stomach but Santana can already see the definition of her abs and it renders her speechless. "Lie down."

Santana does so. Her hands behind her head. Brittany grabs the lotion and squeezes some into her palms once again. Acting as if she wasn't attracted to the other girl, Brittany straddles Santana's thighs and pushes her shirt up with the backs of her hands. She's rubbing her palms together and looks down at Santana's stomach, then everything stops. Brittany is almost frozen. Santana's abs are just as defined as hers. She's sexy and the dips in her waist are to die for. Brittany shakes herself out of her frozen state and swallows thickly. She slowly puts her hand on the taunt abs and rubs them up and down.

Santana's abs tighten for a split second before they release again. She closes her eyes, afraid that if she opens them and sees Brittany straddling her and touching her, she might lose it. Brittany starts to rub deeper and Santana flinches; unconsciously lifting up both knees. But since Brittany was sitting on her thighs, she ends up sliding down and stopping at her hips. Both girls are stunned and silent. Santana heats up and her heart is pounding so hard she's afraid that Brittany can hear it.

"Sorry," Santana says after a few seconds that felt more like minutes, as she lowers her legs again until they're straight and opens her eyes to look at the blonde.

Brittany just smiles. She looks like she's in deep thought. She slowly gets off the girl under her and pulls her shirt down.

Santana feels so embarrassed. Was this moment awkward? She feels like it should be, but at the same time, she feels like it was right. Something about that moment felt right.

Brittany turns around and Santana assumes she's heading to bed. She lies there with her right arm draped over her eyes, completely embarrassed about what happened. Then unexpectedly, she feels lips on her cheek, a kiss. "Thanks for the Lucky Charms," she hears the blonde whisper. She removes her arm from her eyes and there they are, looking right into her own, ocean blue eyes. Santana has no words. She can only smile and nod. "I'm going to wash my hands and then give Lord Tubbington a shower… If I can find him. You should get some rest. You need to work tomorrow morning and you should probably shower before you head out or people are going to wonder why you smell like an old lady with joint problems."

Santana giggles at the statement, "But that will keep Puckerman away from me right?"

"Yes," Brittany taps her chin and nods, "in fact, it will probably keep everyone away from you." Santana turns her hips quickly and kicks out at Brittany, but Brittany jumps back and dodges it quickly. "Ohhh, what a kick. Maybe I should be doing fight scenes with you instead of Mike." Brittany laughs.

"Shut up and go wash your cat," Santana calls out as Brittany turns and skips away. She relaxes back on the couch for a moment, her cheek still tingling from the kiss. Every part of her body is smiling right now.

After a few moments she grabs her script and puts it in her purse before she heads up to Brittany's washroom to brush up and get ready for bed. Brittany is in the 'hardly used guest washroom' bathing her cat while talking to him. Santana peeks in, "Goodnight, Britt."

Brittany turns her head quickly, "Goodnight, San. Good luck tomorrow."

"Thanks." She closes the door and just as she's about to head back to her room she faintly hears Brittany's voice and it causes her to stop.

"She's beautiful isn't she, Lord T?"

Santana smiles to herself and makes her way back to her bedroom. She cuddles a pillow again and closes her eyes. She can't seem to get the feeling or thoughts away from the kiss. It has completely conquered her brain, but it's not like she minds.

* * *

Thanks again to everyone who has been writing reviews. I really enjoy reading everyone's input and feelings towards the characters. It really motivates me. And yes, slow and steady wins the race... or in this case, wins the girl ;)

Comments? Constructive criticism? Please be kind.


	13. Chapter 13

AN: The next chapter might take a little longer to post, because I'm a little behind on writing, but I felt like I owed you guys a better chapter than the last one. I'm really hoping people are still reading and enjoying the story. I feel like the Brittana ship has sailed and people are climbing aboard other ships now. I'm hoping I still get enough readers to motivate my writing. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I know some of you will hate this chapter, but I hope you like the end of it at least. Longest chapter so far, so I hope it makes up for making you wait an extra day or so for the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

"And... Action!"

Santana, Holly, and Puck are all on set. Puck was pretty quiet since he's been here but it doesn't make Santana hate him any less. She doesn't know if it's because her character is supposed to hate him or if it's truly just her gut that hates him but every time she looks at him, she feels anger spread through her body. It doesn't help that his character is a jerk as well. The character he's playing is actually very similar to the real life him. Smooth talking, deceiving, completely arrogant jerk-wad.

During their break, Santana grabs a coffee and takes a seat with Holly as some makeup artists come over to touch up the blonde's eyes. Santana sees Puck begin to head towards them but as soon as he notices that Holly is there, he turns the other way.

Surprised at his actions, Santana just has to ask, "What's up with him?"

Holly laughs lightly, making sure she doesn't move too much and ruin the make up being applied to her, "He's afraid of me."

Shocked, Santana looks over at her. Santana has yelled at him, swore at him, she's even slapped him, and he doesn't seem that scared of her. "How – what did you do – how?"

"Let's just say that he tried to get his pervy little hands on me once and I told him that Will was my boyfriend and that if he comes close to me again, I'll tell Will and he will be out of the movie," she giggles, "and it's not even true."

"Isn't Will with Emma?" Santana asks curiously.

"He's trying. I can see them eye-fucking each other, but neither of them have the guts to act on it. Will and I are really good friends. We went together for a little while but it didn't work out, but that just made us closer. However, unless there's a witness or some hard evidence that Noah is harassing someone, they can't actually do anything. This industry is pretty corrupt. Especially since he's a rising star. Fortunately for me, he's not the brightest, so he believed me when I told him he can get canned because William is always on set. "

"5-Minutes!" Will calls out.

Both girls get out of their seats and head towards the set again. Holly whispers something in Will's ear, causing him to look over at Puck in a disgusting manner. Puck notices and looks away quickly. Holly just laughs and heads over to her starting spot marked with a green X.

Santana walks by her, "What did you say?"

"I just told him that Noah farted when he walked by and it smelled like eggs boiled in curry sauce," Holly replied with a smirk.

Santana burst out with a loud laugh and covered her mouth. Everyone turned to look at her for a moment, before going back to their jobs.

Once they all go back to work, everyone was back to being professional. It's pretty crazy how one moment they can act one way and once the cameras are rolling everybody's personality changes. There were a lot of lines for everyone in this scene and it was pretty intense. After another 3 hours of shooting it was finally finished. Holly had asked Santana if she wanted to join the rest of the group for drinks; including Tina and a few of the extras Holly has easily made friends with. However, Santana declines and Holly knows exactly why. The older blonde wishes Santana good luck and gives her a wink before leaving the studio.

Santana is in the change room digging through her purse for her keys. It would have been much easier finding them if she wasn't such a slob, she thinks to herself. She has a relatively big bag, and with a big bag, comes lots of stuff to fill it with. Santana hardly believes in putting smaller things into smaller bags to put in her purse. She usually just tosses items in there and can usually feel around to find them, but this time, her keys seemed to have found a spot where she has yet to be able to find. She shakes her purse a few times to rearrange the items and then goes back to digging. Her back is facing the dressing room door. Her purse is on a chair so she's has to bend over a bit in order to dig. She doesn't hear the door open when suddenly large thick arms wrap themselves around her hugging her tightly.

She squeals and tries to turn around. She knows who it is and she's very, very not happy about it.

"What the fuck, Puckerman. Let go!"

"Come on, Santana. Give us a shot and you'll probably like it." She's unable to wiggle free since he has both her arms pinned to her body. "Man, when you were pacing back and forth with that skirt being all sassy on set, it was hard for me to contain myself and stay in character. There's just something about a girl with a little sass, you know?"

"Let go, Puckerman! Let go or I'll scream!"

"I like it when you're feisty," Puck says in a low whisper, right into her ear. "Besides, no one can hear you. Everyone is outside shooting a car scene now. So, it's perfect, it's just you and me."

Santana is struggling harder and trying to kick him but he keeps moving his feet and dodging her moves. He tightens his arms as his left hand crosses her chest and lands on her right boob.

"Fucking, get off me!" Santana is now starting to panic. _What the fuck is happening?_

"Trust me, I'm getting off the more you squirm," he says in a low creepy tone. He pulls her into to him tightly and she feels his stiff cock against her lower back. He is starting to grind into her back. His right hand begins to travel down her body and stops at her jeans as he tries to get his hands down them.

She closes her eyes, praying that someone comes in to see this. Brittany flashes into her mind and she suddenly remembers the self defense training the blonde had taught her. She pulls herself down hard and ducks while moving to the right. She uses all her strength and elbows him straight in the solar plexus and winds him. Puck begins to gasp for air as he lets go of her completely. She quickly turns around and sees that he has already has his hands covering his package as if he knows what she's going to aim for first. So, instead she takes a palm to his nose; hitting him as fast and hard as she can, grabs her purse and runs out the door. She hears him yell in pain in the change room, but she doesn't give two fucks right now. She heads outside where the crew is filming.

"Santana, what are you still doing here?" Emma asks her as soon as she bursts out through the doors.

Knowing that most of the people here either won't believe her or tell her that she has no proof or witnesses, or that Puck would just lie and say she was all over him and then when he acted on it, she attacked it. Considering she had no marks or injuries on her, and he did (she probably even broke his nose), she just shakes her head and runs to her car.

As she's reaching for her keys again, damn keys, Puck runs out, covering his nose, blood running down his chin. The rest of the cast and the whole crew turn around. A few people quickly rush to his aid. This can't be happening to the lead actor. "Fucking bitch leads me on and then nails me in the fucking face!" He sputters right away while one person has an ice pack ready for him and another is wiping the blood from his face.

"Fuck you," Santana yells out. "The fucker was molesting me!"

"In your dreams, SLUT!"

Everyone else is silent.

"Santana," Emma says as she walks up to her. "This is your chance, do you have any proof? Like, was anyone in the studio with you? A recording? Anything?"

Santana just shakes her head in disappointment. She knew this would happen. She looks up and sees the myriad of people taking care of Puck. She shakes her head again, "No one would believe me anyways. I'm done with this bullshit." She puts her hand in her jacket pocket; her keys. Her fucking keys. She unlocks the door and gets in. Before she closes the door she looks up at Emma who is looking at her with empathetic eyes. "They can fire me, cut me from the movie, do whatever the fuck they want, I'm not coming back." She closes the door, starts the ignition, and drives straight to Brittany's house.

* * *

She doesn't realize it but it feels like she got there in record time. She doesn't even know how but she's sitting in Brittany's driveway. Did she run any red lights? How many people did she cut off? How did she not get into an accident? She sits in her car for a while and takes a few deep breaths. When she feels calm enough, she takes the key out of the ignition and makes her way into the house. She feels like a mess. How does she even tell Brittany what happened? It's embarrassing and frustrating at the same time. Why is it so hard to tell people when other people have been assholes to them? Why should she feel ashamed? Maybe it's that little part of her that feels like no one will believe her and everyone will think she's the self-absorbed one instead.

She opens the door and sees Brittany napping on the couch cuddling her cat. She closes the door, but when she does, the cat looks up at her, moving Brittany's arm, causing her to wake up.

Brittany looks at her standing at the door. Brittany blinks hard a few times, adjusting to the light and focusing her eyes. As soon as her eyes are fixated on the brunette still standing at the door way, she knows something is wrong right away.

"Santana? What happened?" Brittany sits up immediately. Santana can't look at her right now. She looks at the floor and shakes her head. "Come here," Brittany says gently with her arms out.

Santana can't move. With everything that has happened, she's too shocked to move. She's just absorbing everything that has happened in the last 30 minutes. Brittany stands up right away and walks quickly to Santana's side. Hesitant to reach out for her, she just lifts her arms slightly. If Santana wants a hug, she's here. If not, it's okay.

As if it was natural instinct, Santana falls into Brittany's arms. Resting her forehead onto the taller girl's shoulder. Brittany wraps her arms around her gently. Santana shuts her eyes tightly, trying to relax herself into Brittany's arms but she can't seem to relax. She feels a tear fall from her eyes onto Brittany's sweater. She doesn't even know why she's crying. She's not sad or hurt. It's a frustrated tear. Brittany must have felt it because she pulls back and looks delicately at Santana's face.

"Come," Brittany says as she pulls Santana towards the couch, "Sit down."

Santana follows her and they both sit on the couch. Brittany's shoulder is against the back of the couch, her body is facing Santana. Santana is sitting stiffly, upright. Not leaning against the couch at all. This scenario is all too familiar to Santana, except this time, they're at Brittany's house. Brittany's hand is on her shoulder and it's comforting. They stay silent for a while before Santana calms down and decides to speak up.

"He did it again," Santana says quietly.

"Noah?" Brittany asks. Santana nods. "Fucking asshole, didn't he learn from last time not to mess with you?" Brittany says with fire in her eyes.

Santana shrugs and then shakes her head, "I guess not."

"What did he do?" Brittany asks cautiously, fearing the possibilities. "You can tell me if you want, you can trust me, but if you're not comfortable, you don't have to." Santana sits and takes a moment to decide. She wants to tell her, but she doesn't want to burden the blonde with her issues. She's heard it before, does she really need to hear it again? "And I'll believe everything you say," Brittany adds.

After a few minutes of silence, Santana decides she has to get it out, "He touched me this time."

"WHAT?!" Brittany says as she pulls back in shock and then rage. "How did he – where was everyone else?"

"Everyone was outside – shooting a car scene. I was in the change room and – and he came in. I didn't know until... until he put his arms around me."

"Did he – was he..." Brittany can't even say the words.

Santana nods, "He was holding me so tight, I couldn't get out. He was – he was hard and – and he had one hand on my breast and the other hand –" she stops. Her heart is starting to race from panic and fear just from repeating the scenario.

"Oh my God," Brittany says with her hands covering her mouth. "He – he touched you? There?"

Santana shakes her head, "No, he – he tried, but – but he couldn't – and then – and then I thought of you." This catches Brittany by surprise and the blue eyes widen and her eyebrows are raised. "Thought of your class – the workshop and... I got away. I left him with a bleeding nose." Brittany nods slightly, utterly proud of Santana. "I ran to my car and when he came out he – he yelled at me. Denied everything again. Said I lead him on then attacked him. And I know – I know that I have no proof or witnesses, and no one can do anything even if they wanted to. It's – it's his word against mine and... since he's the one with the bloody nose and I have nothing on me, no marks, no signs of abuse; there's no case," Santana shakes her head is disappointment and frustration.

"I'm sorry," Brittany says quietly. "I don't know, I feel like I should have been there. I just – I had a feeling he would try something but I thought – I thought maybe he would have learned from last time and – I'm sorry, Santana." Her blue eyes pleading for forgiveness.

"No, no no," Santana says as her hands reach for the blonde's cheeks. "None of this is your fault, you taught him a lesson for sure. He's just a brave enough prick to try it again. You actually saved me. You taught me how to protect myself. I mean, it took some time for me to remember everything, but I got away. I did it."

Brittany nods slightly and looks back up at the Latina, "You're not a damsel in distress anymore. No damsel here," Brittany shakes her head with a slight smile.

Santana smiles back weakly and tilts her head, "Well, technically, I'm still a damsel, Britt." Brittany scrunches her brows so Santana explains further, "A damsel just means a young unmarried woman, so actually, we are two damsels. We're just not in distress... Well, I was I – I got away, luckily," She says more quietly as she looks down again.

Brittany just shakes her head as she furrows her brows and pouts angrily, "I should've been there. I could've protected you."

"Stop," Santana says and puts her hand gently behind the other girl's neck, and caressing it with her thumb. Brittany purses her lips and then looks up into the sparkling brown eyes. "You saved me more than you know. There's nothing anyone can do now, I told them I'm done and I'm not going back onto that set."

"You quit the show?"

Santana drops her hands back onto her lap, "Well, today was my last scene anyway. I told them that I wasn't going to go back... I guess they'll have to make do with what they have."

They sit in silence for a bit; glancing at each other once in a while. Finally, Brittany speaks, "Why don't you take a nice hot shower and get changed into your comfy clothes. I'll make us some dinner."

Santana nods and stands up, but before she leaves looks at Brittany with a smirk, "Will you be okay? Is your fire extinguisher nearby?"

Brittany looks at Santana in shock, her eyes are wide and her mouth is open. Then she squints her eyes and purses her lips to try to look mad, "Get out of here," Brittany says, trying to keep a straight face, "I'm going to wow you so that you'll forget all about that incident."

"I can't wait," is all Santana can say before she heads to the bathroom to wash up.

* * *

After her nice long shower, washing away all the grossness she felt, Santana got dressed in baggy sweat pants and a loose fitting t-shirt. When she gets downstairs, she smells something wonderful.

"It smells amazing in here!"

"Sit down," Brittany says as soon as she sees her coming into the kitchen, "Dinner will be ready soon."

Brittany sets down a plate of steak and eggs, with potatoes and an arugula salad on the side topped with feta cheese and pine nuts.

"Oh my God, Britt! This looks amazing!"

"I hope you're not allergic to pine nuts, I forgot to ask."

"I'm not, and this all looks so delicious, I'm just going to dig in, okay?"

"Please do!" Brittany says with a smile as they both pick up their fork and knives, "I cooked the steaks to a medium rare, that's how I eat it... I forgot to ask you that too."

Santana cuts off a piece of steak and chews it with eagerness, "Medium rare is perfect," Santana answers as soon as she swallows. "And I like the eggs, they're a nice touch." She winks.

"What can I say, I gotta have my eggs. Even if they're for dinner," Brittany says as she stuffs the sunny-side up egg into her mouth.

"I thought you didn't like steak, that's why you gave me yours last time," Santana questions, remembering their first outing.

"I like it. I just didn't feel like eating it that day. I just wanted eggs and pancakes," the blonde says with a big smile.

Santana nods and they have a nice relaxing dinner. They talk about stuff that isn't work related. They talked about their favourite movies and the types of music they listen to. What kind of people they were like in high school, and how they got into the careers they're in now. While in between, Santana throwing in how much she's enjoying her meal and how delicious everything is. They learned a lot about each other during this dinner.

Santana insisted she washes the dishes after they were both done and completely stuffed. Brittany denies the insistent behaviour, so they agree to do them together.

Now, they're sitting on the couch, with a bowl of popcorn neither of them are eating because they're too full. It's just something you have to do when you watch a movie; pop some popcorn. The bowl is sitting in between Santana's crossed legs and Brittany is sitting up with one foot on the coffee table and the other one tucked under her.

Out of habit, Santana sticks her hand into the bowl but the first thing she felt wasn't popcorn. It was flesh. Soft, smooth, warm flesh. She quickly pulls her hand back.

"I'm sorry," she says as she looks up at the blonde eyes that are looking back at her.

Brittany just chuckles and throws a piece of popcorn into her mouth, "All good," she says as she continues watching the T.V.

But now, Santana can't focus on the T.V.. Somehow, the shock of their hands touching sent a spark through her body. More than the hugs and tickles. It felt like an electric shock that sent waves through her and made her body tingle and heat up.

Santana looks over and sees Brittany concentrating on the movie – some cartoon about a rat in a kitchen cooking, or something. She notices a cute little smile on her face and her eyes have a sweet twinkle that reflects the light from the screen. "Hey, Britt?" she says almost too quietly.

"Yes?" Brittany turns her head slightly but doesn't take her eyes off the rat being chased by some guy in a chef hat. Santana has no idea what's going on. She hasn't been focusing on the movie.

Santana flicks her eyes back to the screen. She doesn't even know what to say. She doesn't even know why she said her name. She needs to think of something quick.

"Uhhh... I forgot." _Great one, Santana. Good cover up!_

Brittany reaches for the remote on the table next to her foot and pauses the movie. She looks over at the beautiful Latina sitting next to her. "What's up?" Santana just shakes her head. She has no idea. "Try to remember."

"It probably wasn't even important, that's why I forgot so fast," Santana says with a shrug.

They both take a minute to look at each other. Brittany trying to figure out what Santana wanted to say, and Santana trying to figure out what to say.

"You look so stiff holding that bowl of popcorn, do you even want to eat it?" Brittany asks completely out of nowhere.

"Sure, I mean, like, maybe later?" Santana feels bad for wasting food, but she really wasn't hungry.

"Here," Brittany puts her leg back onto the ground and grabs the bowl and sets it on the table in front of them. "Now, you don't have to carry it. Besides, I'm not hungry anyways, so don't feel bad for not eating it. I don't even know why I popped it without asking you. It's just something I naturally do when it's movie time." She pauses a moment, "Are you more comfortable now?"

Santana nods, but she's still sitting very straight and stiff, "Actually, I'm kind of cold. I'm just going to grab a sweater from my room." She begins to get up when Brittany stops her.

"Here, take mine. I don't even need it. I'm actually quite warm." Santana wants to decline the offer but Brittany already has the hoodie over her head and hands it to her. "It's pre-warmed," Brittany says with a smile. Santana takes it and slips it over herself. It's too big for her, but damn it's comfy. It's warm, and cozy and best of all, it smells like Brittany. "Better?"

Santana nods with a smile. She tries not to cover her face with the sweater the way she wants to so she can absorb the scent of Brittany into her; the smell is so comforting. "It's so warm," she hums.

Brittany giggles, "You're so cute! It's so big on you." Santana takes a look at herself and giggles a little bit too, but she stops giggling after Brittany says the next few words, "You look so cute that if you were a teddy bear, I'd cuddle you."

Santana's smile fades into a blush. Not knowing what to say, but not wanting to deny that she would love that. So, she just shrugs.

A shy smirk appears on Brittany's face. They look at each other a bit longer. Not just regular looks though. These are lingering, communicative looks. Like they're speaking to each other through their eyes. Brittany slowly opens her arms and Santana can't help the magnetic force that pulls her into the blonde. The closer she gets to Brittany, the more Brittany leans back into the couch, but slides down so her head rests between the armrest and the back of the couch. Santana sits in between her legs and rests her head right below the blonde's chin. Santana back is leaning against Brittany's chest and Brittany's right arm is draped over Santana's arm. As if they were spooning, but on a slight slant. Brittany's wrist draped over Santana's crossing over each other.

They're both speechless. The comfort. It's nothing either of them have ever felt before. They bodies just fit so perfectly that they can't seem to think about anything else. They both forget that they're supposed to watch a movie. Finally, Brittany starts up the movie again and they continue watching Ratatouille.

* * *

Santana and Brittany both walk onto the studio set hand in hand. Holly, Mike, Sam, and Puck are there. The set is bright and the scene they are going to shoot is outside. There's a garage and a front door of a white painted house. Santana stands behind Artie and watches as the scene takes place. Santana should probably wonder why Brittany and Holly are in the same scene at the same time, but she doesn't. It doesn't even phase her. Brittany, Holly, Sam, and Puck are standing in a circle.

"Action!" Artie calls out.

Suddenly, a crowd of people run through the set. Like, 50 people. Something is wrong. Santana doesn't remember this happening in the script. The lights go out and suddenly the set is dim. Brittany is tied on to the garage door, struggling to get loose. Everyone else is trying to get her down, except Puck. Puck is missing. Santana leans in to ask Artie what's going on but Artie just lifts his hand, his eyes furrow as he looks at her, then back at the scene. She keeps quiet. She feels panicked but isn't sure if she should run onto set and risk being yelled at by Artie, or just stand and watch uncomfortably. Maybe this is supposed to happen? Maybe she missed this page on the script? Was it an add on? Maybe they're just really good actors.

Artie leans back in his chair, looking very unhappy, crossing his arms across his chest. "Now," he says. He says it loudly, but not loud enough for the people helping Brittany to hear.

She opens her eyes and sees Puck towering over her. She's on her back now, and it's cold. Like she's lying on cement. Her arms are pinned above her head. She can hear Brittany's voice calling her name frantically, but Santana can't seem to turn her head to look for her. She desperately wants to find Brittany, to see if she's still tied up. She hopes to God Brittany can be freed soon.

Puck begins kissing her neck, up to her earlobes. She's doing her best to turn away but her body barely moves. She's struggling underneath him.

"Keep doing it baby. Keep moving. You're making me so hard," Puck whispers in her ear before working his way back to her neck. He kisses down her body as he unbuttons and removes her pants. She's trying to scream out for Brittany but she seemed to have lost her voice. It's only coming out as a whisper.

Pucks manages to pull her pants and panties off as he undoes his own zipper. She's fighting to get him off of her. She's putting all her strength in trying to push him off but he's not budging. He steadies himself between her legs.

"Ready or not, here I come, baby. Literally." He chuckles and she looks down. His penis is throbbing as he positions himself and tries to stuff himself into her. She's crying now. She realizes there's nothing she can do. She feels herself tighten, trying not to let him in. She feels him trying to push himself into her but for some reason, not succeeding. Just a constant painful bump against her center.

"Brittany! Help!" She tries to shout out in tears, but only comes out in quiet whimpers.

All she sees is Puck trying his best to thrust into her.

"Santana," She faintly hears Brittany's voice.

Tears are streaming down her face, she's sobbing now and it's getting hard to breathe. She's not even trying to look for Brittany because she knows the sound is coming from way behind her. Her entire body is clenched up and tight.

"Santana," she hears again a little louder. She closes her eyes, feeling tears roll down her face. "San, wake up."

She shuts her eyes tight and clenches her jaw. "Santana," she hears again. This time more clearly.

* * *

For a split second she sees nothing, hears nothing, feels nothing, then she opens her eyes.

Her heart is pounding. Her breaths are quick. She feels sweaty and her face is wet, but she doesn't know if it's from sweat or tears.

She sees the T.V. and it's paused on a weird looking curly haired boy in a chef's jacket. She quickly discovers where she is.

"Hey," Santana hears a whisper. She turns over slightly and looks up. Concerned blue eyes looking all over her face. Warm, strong arms wrapped comfortably around her body. Soft, lean fingers wipe away the wetness on her face. "Hey, hey, it's okay, Santana. You were having a nightmare," Brittany says gently.

"Holy shit," Santana breathes out. "Fuck, that was so fucked up."

"I could tell. Your whole body was so tense, but it seemed like you were squirming from the inside. Are you okay? Would you like some water?"

Santana shakes her head. "I'm okay now. Thank you. Did you wake me up?"

"Yeah, I felt your body twitch a few times and when I looked down you looked so upset. So, I called your name and even shook you lightly but you didn't wake up. I didn't want to be too loud and scare you, but when I saw a tear fall and you started to sweat, I knew something was terribly wrong, I got scared, so I called out your name louder. Then you finally woke up."

"I'm so sorry, Britt," Santana says as she sniffs, but she realizes her nose isn't even snotty. She touches her own face and apparently she wasn't crying as much as she was in her dream. Just a few tears, but she was definitely sweating. "I got your shirt all sweaty. I'll wash it before I give it back to you."

"Don't even worry about it, San. I just hope you're okay. That seemed like quite a nightmare. Do you still remember what happened?"

Santana thinks. She remembers bits and pieces. She remembers Brittany being tied up, lots of people, the cold ground, and Puck. It was kind of blurry, but she remembered what Puck was doing. "Yeah, kind of... I – you were in it too."

"Was I the one that upset you?" Brittany asks with a sincere frown.

"No, it wasn't you. You were trying to save me but you were tied up. Like, really tied up... to like, a garage? Or something? And – there was people from work and – I – lots of other people I didn't know. And Puck – Puck was there – and he – fuckin' hell – he was – he – was raping me. Geezus, fuck – that's – that's so fucked."

"Wow, I'm – I'm wow..." Brittany breathes out and holds Santana tighter.

"But it's just a nightmare, and it's over now, and it's not true, so I'm okay."

Brittany nods, "You're okay now. Do you want to get some water and then head to bed? And um – hopefully not have any more nightmares?" Santana nods and sits up. Using Brittany's hoodie sleeve, she wipes the cold sweat from her forehead. "I'll give you a new sweater too, if you want."

"But the movie –" Santana starts but gets interrupted.

"Don't even worry about it; I've seen it like a zillion times. We should get to bed anyway."

They both get up off the couch and head to the kitchen. Brittany pours Santana a glass of water. "By the way, I'll just sleep in a t-shirt today, I might overheat if I sleep in a hoodie again," she says as she takes a gulp of water.

The girls head upstairs and they stop in front of the guest room. Santana hesitates. She's afraid she'll have nightmares again, but this time, Brittany won't be there to wake her up.

As if reading her mind, Brittany grabs Santana's hand and leads her to her own room. "Sleep in here today," Brittany says quietly but confidently. "If you get another nightmare I want to be able to wake you up and protect you."

A sense of relief flows through Santana and she nods. Once they're Brittany's room, they wash up quietly. They head towards the bed and Brittany automatically takes the left side and Santana takes the right. Santana takes off the hoodie, leaving her in a t-shirt. She puts the hoodie on the dresser and slips into bed. Brittany gets in right after she turns off the lights wearing only a large t-shirt. The t-shirt is half way down her thigh, so it's pretty big. Mens XXL probably.

Santana's heart is racing and she doesn't know why. Well, she knows why. She's in bed with Brittany, even though they're each on their own side, she's still in the same bed as her and that makes Santana nervous.

"Britt?" she says as she opens her eyes, but all she sees is darkness.

"Yeah?"

"Can I – never mind, goodnight."

There's a pause. Brittany doesn't say anything for a while. Not even goodnight. Santana is getting more nervous now but then Brittany speaks up, "Yes."

"You don't even know what I was going to say," Santana says. Her heart is thumping, what if Brittany did know, and she said 'yes'?

"I think I do," Brittany says with a bit of timidity.

"What was I going to say?" Santana tests her.

"Just get over her," Brittany says as she scoots closer to Santana.

Santana is happy the room is so dark, because she's smiling like a complete idiot. She scoots closer to Brittany until she can feel the girl's arms and then her chest. Brittany moves closer, still on her back, and slips her right arm under Santana. Santana cuddles in close, resting her head on Brittany's cheek. Her right arm is wrapped around the blonde's slim, toned frame. Brittany throws her left arm over Santana and they cuddle. They cuddle for a good few minutes.

Santana first wonders if Brittany has fallen asleep, but she can feel the other girl's heart beating faster. And because Santana's head is against Brittany's cheek, she feels when the taller girl pulls her head back just a little bit, and this causes Santana to do the same.

Santana's eyes are closed. She can't see a thing. But this just heightens her sense of touch. She feels Brittany tilt her own head down and Santana leaves hers steady. _What is she doing?_ Santana's heart speeds up as well.

Brittany is moving her head around lightly. Like she's searching for something. Then, their noses touch. Brittany dips her head down just slightly, putting her nose under Santana's and lifts up, lifting Santana's head up as well. Santana feels like her heart is about to beat out of her chest. _Is this really happening?_ She feels Brittany's breath against her lips as her own breathing has shortened into smaller, faster breaths.

Santana tries to control her breathing, but before she's able to, Brittany leans in just enough for their lips to graze. Santana automatically opens her lips slightly and leans in the rest of the way, pushing their lips together firmly into a kiss.

Her body tenses in shock, but relaxes just as quickly as Brittany wraps her arms around her tighter. Santana's lips surround Brittany's lower lip, and Brittany's lips are sandwiching Santana's upper ones. They kiss for a few seconds before Brittany's hand slides up and rests on Santana's neck, just below the back of her head. She then feels Brittany's tongue try to make its way into her mouth, and she gives it access without a second thought. Their tongues touch, and the smooth velvety feeling completely relaxes and excites Santana at the same time.

After a few more seconds of making out, Brittany finally pulls away. Both of their breathing is heavy. Their foreheads leaning against each other. Santana leans in again for a quick peck before pulling back and resting her head against Brittany's cheek again. Brittany adjusts herself so she can wrap herself around the brunette again.

Eventually, both girls' heart rate and breathing slows down into a relaxed pace until they both fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

You're welcome! ;)

Comments? Constructive criticism? Please be kind.


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Wow! The reviews and comments I received for chapter 13 were amazing! It really pushes me to write as much as I can each day. Thank you guys so, so much! You have no idea what these reviews mean to a novice writer like me. I literally smiled like an idiot reading them. Anyway, this chapter took much longer than expected to post. I haven't had much time at all to write this week, and all the spare time I had, I tried to add to my newest chapter. Hoping to catch up on writing this coming week.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

Santana wakes up because her nose is itchy. It feels like there's a feather constantly tickling her. She swipes at her nose again before opening her eyes, and when she does, a smile takes over her face. Her head is now tucked under Brittany's chin and blonde strands of hair keep falling onto her face. She's lying on Brittany's arm with her own arm wrapped around the sleeping beauty's waist. Santana can't believe what happened last night. It wasn't a dream right? They really kissed right? Santana has been having so many dreams lately that she's not totally sure what's real when she wakes up, but the fact that she's lying in bed with her arm wrapped around her 'more than a crush' is proof that something did, in fact, happen. She pushes herself onto her elbow to look at the clock on Brittany's side. 8:16am.

Santana decides to make Brittany some breakfast, so she slowly gets up, trying not to wake the girl lying under her. As soon as she hangs her feet over the bed she hears a wonderfully raspy, sleepy voice, "Where are you going?"

Santana turns around and sees Brittany looking at her with one eye open and shaking out her probably numb arm. "Go back to sleep, I was just going to make breakfast before I wake you up. Sorry, I thought you were supposed to be a heavy sleeper."

Brittany smiles as she continues to shake out her arm, opening and closing her hand trying to get the blood flowing again. "I am, but for some reason, my body knew when you weren't next to me anymore and it told me to search for you. Besides, my arm felt tingly." Santana gives her an apologetic look and mouths a 'sorry'. Brittany gives a big grin and chuckles a little as she turns to look at the time. "I should get up anyway; I need to plan the workout for today's class."

"Oh, right. Your class is today!"

"You're coming right?"

"Of course! I get to walk in with the instructor, how badass is that?"

Brittany chuckles and log-rolls over to Santana. "Very badass, your instructor is so awesome," Brittany says as she looks up at Santana still sitting at the edge of the bed.

"So awesome," Santana repeats as she smiles and boops Brittany on the nose. She stops herself from leaning down and kissing her. She's not sure if what happened last night was a one-time thing or possibly something more. She needed to find out first.

Santana flashes a quick smile and retreats towards the bathroom to wash up.

Once breakfast is almost finished, Brittany comes into the kitchen. "I smell eggs," she says as she leans over Santana's shoulder to watch her scramble the eggs in a pan.

"Can you set the table? Breakfast is almost ready."

"Yes mam!" Brittany says with a salute.

Brittany sets the table and then fills a bowl up for Lord Tubbington before seating herself at the table with a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee for Santana. Santana brings over two plates and sets them on the table. She made scrambled eggs with cheese, french toast, and ham.

Brittany smiles and does her little food dance Santana loves so much as she takes her first bite.

"How is it?" Santana asks as she takes a sip of her coffee.

"Perfect! If only you could make me this every morning," Brittany says as she pulls her eggs up as high as she can without her cheese breaking.

Brittany's comment leaves Santana a little speechless. Oh, how she would love to wake up and have breakfast with her every morning. "But you will get bored if you eat this every morning," she says instead.

"Not if you make it," Brittany replies simply as she takes a sip of her juice.

"Oh! I forgot!" Santana suddenly says as she gets up from the table and runs to the living room. She runs back to Brittany sitting there, in the exact same position she was in. Eyes wide, fork stabbed into the ham, stunned as to where Santana was going. "Here!" Santana says as she places the daily Sudoku next to Brittany with a pen.

Brittany's jaw drops in surprise, "Aw, thank you. That's so sweet of you." She picks up the pen and starts on the puzzle right away. Glancing up at Santana every so often and smiling.

This cause Santana to smile too. She loves watching her friend when she's in total focus mode. She finds it super attractive that Brittany is so smart, and its super cute when she's serious.

It doesn't take long for Brittany to finish it. She drops her pen and raises her arms up before taking the last sip of her juice.

"Wow! That was so fast!" Santana says impressed.

"Well, this one was only a…" She looks at the bottom of the puzzle, "it was only a medium level puzzle, so it wasn't too hard."

"You're amazing," Santana blurts out, not taking her eyes off her friend. She then clears her throat and grabs the empty plates and puts them in the sink. "So, what time do we have to leave for the studio?" She asks when Brittany walks over.

"Well, class starts at 6, but I like to get there early to go over everything and see how many people are signed up. Can we leave at 5?"

"For sure! You're the boss! What do you want to do before then?"

"I need to do some grocery shopping; Lord T is running low on food. Then – well, then that's it until we have to leave for class. Want to come with me?"

"Sure," Santana nods.

Brittany heads upstairs to change, and when she comes back Santana is digging though her purse again.

"What are you doing?" Brittany asks as she finishes tying her hair into a high ponytail.

"I'm trying to find my ID, I know it's in here somewhere," She says as she dumps the contents of her purse onto the couch.

"Geez! Don't you have like, bags or something to put all your small stuff in?" Brittany asks as she scrunches her face up and walks towards the mess on her couch.

"I – I don't – I probably should, eh?" Santana asks. She thinks back to why Puck was able to get so close to her the other day. She really should be more organized.

"Yes, I think it would be much more convenient instead of dumping everything out every time you want to find something," Brittany says as she reaches under Santana's post-its and a pack of gum, and pulling out her ID; passing it to her.

"Thanks," Santana blushes. "Maybe, while we're out shopping, I can get some pouches and stuff to organize my purse."

"I think that would be a great idea," Brittany says with wide eyes and an over exaggerated nod. "Why don't you get changed and I'll start by piling your items into categories?"

Santana laughs and eyes Brittany curiously. She shrugs. "Fine," and heads upstairs to get ready.

When she comes back down, Brittany has piled her items neatly along the couch.

"I have a few piles," Brittany points out. "Make up, stuff that should be in your wallet, receipts, stationary, and – and this wonderful pile of garbage.

Santana's eyes widen at the big pile of garbage and the corners of her lips pull down. She realizes how unorganized and kind of gross she is. She vows silently to herself that she won't embarrass herself like this in front of Brittany again.

"Well, let's get a move on then," Santana says as she grabs her wallet, keys, and cellphone. Leaving everything else in the neat piles on the couch. "I'll just take these and then we can organize it when we get back."

The girls head out and buy some cat food for Lord Tubbington. They buy fruit, vegetables, chicken breast, yogurt, and salad for themselves, and three different small pouches for Santana, along with a small make up bag.

* * *

Once the girls get home, they put the food items into the fridge and begin sorting out Santana's mess. With Brittany's help, Santana is finally able to organize her purse. She went through all the garbage Brittany dug out to make sure there was nothing important. And sure enough, there wasn't, it was just a lot of garbage.

They sit on the couch watching T.V. and chit-chatted. Santana tells Brittany that she got into acting because she took a few drama classes in school and loved it. She also mentioned that she was in Concert Choir with Rachel, Kurt, and Mercedes.

"You sing?" Brittany asks, completely surprised. "Sing something for me!"

Santana raises a single brow and shakes her head, "No, I can't just burst out into song. I have to really feel the songs I sing. Besides, I haven't sung in front of an audience since high school."

Brittany pouts, "Aw, man, please? Just a little bit?"

Santana shakes her head and giggles, "I can't."

"You'll sing for me one day, I know you will," Brittany says with confidence.

"And how do you know that?" Santana questions with a smirk.

"I just do," Brittany says while giving Santana big toothy grin before turning her attention back to the T.V.

They sit for about 30min, watching an episode of _Friends_. Santana looks over at the beautiful girl on her left when a song flows through her head and she decides to sing it out quietly.

"Beautiful girls all over the world, I could be chasing but my time would be wasted, they got nothin' on you baby, nothin' on you baby…" She pauses and looks over. Brittany slowly turns her head, smiling. "They might say hi and I might say hey, but you shouldn't worry about what they say 'cause they got nothin' on you baby, nothin' on you baby…" She sings a little louder. She's starting to feel herself blush, so she looks down to her lap and sinks a bit further into the couch.

She feels the couch shift and Brittany is sitting next to her. Looking at her with seriousness in her eyes. "Got the song stuck in your head?" Brittany asks.

Santana shakes her head, she glances up and sees beautiful blue eyes looking back at her, and she turns back to looking at her hands on her lap. "No, I told you I only sing when I feel something. I – I looked at you and –" Santana shrugs, "I felt something, and I wanted to sing and – well – so I did."

She feels the couch shift again and Brittany is sitting even closer. Her hip, right against her own. Santana doesn't look up until a gentle slim hand reaches over and touches her cheek. Brittany turns Santana's head so she's looking at her. As soon as Santana looks up, she doesn't have time to react when Brittany leans and kisses her. Gently, slowly. Her fingers are lightly caressing her cheek.

Santana lets herself sink into the kiss, slowly turning her body so it's facing the other girl. They kiss for a while longer before breaking apart to breathe, finally realizing that they needed air.

Both girls are breathing hard. As soon as Santana has caught her breath, she crashes their lips together again. Her left hand on Brittany's neck, and her right wrapped around her waist. Their kisses become more intense and her heart is racing like crazy. Their lips mesh so well together as they kiss in perfect sync. Brittany runs her hand through Santana's hair as she licks her bottom lip. Santana grants her entrance immediately. Brittany's right hand rests on Santana's hip as she leans forward just a little more

Santana feels herself getting pushed back and complies. She adjusts herself so she's lying on the couch. Brittany on top of her. Their lips not breaking once. Brittany's thumb is ever so lightly caressing Santana's bare hipbone sending tingles throughout her body. Her shirt must have risen when she sunk into the couch. She can't help but let out a moan. The weight of Brittany's body on top of hers is turning her on so much. She reaches under the back of Brittany's shirt and touches the soft, smooth skin of her lower back. Brittany pulls back slightly, gently tugging on Santana's bottom lip as they look into each other's eyes. They both have on a soft smile.

Brittany bites her lower lip before she lowers her head again. Kissing Santana's cheek, jaw, then her neck. Santana can't help but moan again as her body grinds upward a little bit. Brittany settles to work on her neck. Licking, and sucking, with the occasional nibbling. Santana has moved her left hand into Brittany's hair, massaging her scalp while her right hand continues to stroke her bare lower back.

Santana is getting way too turned on, she lets out another moan as she pulls on Brittany's hair. She never realized how sensitive her neck was. Brittany must be doing something right.

"Britt," Santana moans out.

"Mm," Brittany hums.

"We can't," Santana says, regrettably, yet not pushing Brittany off either.

Brittany stops making out with Santana's neck for a moment to look at her, "Why? What's wrong?" Brittany looks concerned as she bites her own lower lip.

"Because," she reaches up and caresses Brittany's face, "because it's 4:30 and we have to leave soon."

Brittany turns around to look at the clock hanging on the wall behind the couch and grumbles as she looks back down at Santana. She turns and looks at the clock again, and smirks when she looks back at her, "A lot can happen in 30 minutes."

Santana smiles a toothy grin, "Mmm, I'm sure you're right. But do you really want to do… stuff, and then have to rush out?"

"Fine, you have a point," Brittany breathes out before pushing herself off.

Santana pushes herself up and leans her back on the couch. Both of them sit in silence for a while. Santana takes a quick glance over towards Brittany and feels guilty. Brittany's face is all serious and she's just zoning out, staring at the coffee table in front of them.

"Hey, are you okay?" Santana asks, breaking Brittany out of her thoughts.

Brittany looks over and gives a half smile, "Yeah, yeah, of course I am," she says as she shakes her head as if she's shaking the thoughts out of it. "I'm just – I'm sorry."

Santana's eyebrows pinch into the middle as she turns her body towards the blonde, "What are you talking about? Why are you apologizing?"

Brittany shakes her head again, "Nothing, never mind. It's all good," she says with an obviously fake smile.

"No, what is it? Tell me, Britt."

Brittany continues to look at the table. Her eyebrows furrow for a split second before she relaxes them again. "I just – I don't know if you – like – I don't want to. I don't know…" she trails off.

"Britt?"

Brittany turns her head and looks at the time while exhaling sharply. They should be getting ready to leave now. They still need to change into their workout gear. "We should get going," Brittany says as she gets up from the couch.

Santana grabs her by the hand and pulls her back down, "No, can you just tell me what's wrong? Please? And don't think that what just happened was a one sided thing. I want to too. I like you, Britt." Santana blurts out honestly. Brittany turns to look at her cautiously. "Like, I _like_ you, Brittany," Santana emphasizes the word.

Brittany gives a genuine smile and nods slightly taking in a deep breath. She looks down at her fingers and mumbles, "I like you too." Before she looks at the Latina once more and then glances at the time. "We should go."

They both stand up and head to their rooms to get changed. When Santana goes back downstairs, Brittany is already tying her shoe laces. She's wearing her instructors jacket with a yellow shirt peeking through underneath, and black shorts.

Santana is wearing a red t-shirt, dark grey yoga pants, and a black track hoodie.

Brittany is carrying her sports bag and Santana is holding her water bottle as they both start walking down the street to the studio. They walk in silence. Santana takes a glance in Brittany's direction and decides to do what she thought of doing when they were at home. She reaches over and links her pinky with Brittany's as they cross the street. Brittany turns to look at her and a big closed mouth smile appears. Internally sighing in relief, Santana smiles back.

* * *

They walk the rest of the way to the studio holding pinkies. It felt nice. Santana would rather be holding her hand, but that's something they need to discuss after they get home tonight.

Since they are 45 minutes early for class, Quinn is the only one inside organizing the equipment and refilling the mini fridge that stores bottled water members can buy. As they reach the door, the girls unlink their pinkies as Brittany holds the door open for Santana to step in.

"Hey Britt, oh hey there, Santana!" Quinn calls out as both girls greet her back. Santana heads towards the locker room to put her purse away and Brittany goes behind the desk to put her stuff down as well.

When Santana comes back out, she goes straight to the desk where Brittany and Quinn are talking.

"So, how's staying with Britt this week?" Quinn asks as she looks from Santana back to Brittany.

Santana clears her throat. "It's been good. Great. It's been great! Brittany is a great host," Santana says with a smile. Peeking over at Brittany slightly as the tall blonde smiles back.

"It's nice to have a roommate, and Santana has been great too," Brittany says as she hangs her arm around Santana's shoulder loosely, "She snores a lot less than you," She looks at Quinn as Quinn roll her eyes.

"I have a deviated septum, I can't help it," Quinn says.

Brittany rolls her eyes and shrugs, then she looks at the time, "Quinn, do you want to help me move some of the bags? I want them in a semi-circle for today's class."

Quinn nods and walks out from behind the desk. Her and Brittany start pushing the free standing punching bags around so they're lined up the way Brittany wants. These bags aren't the ones that hang from the ceilings. They only have two of those, and those ones don't move. They stay on the left side of the studio and are chained up to the ceiling and are only taken down if they need to. The ones they are moving are the ones filled with water on the bottom. That way they can move them to any position they want to fit the needs of the class. There are about twelve of those.

"Do you need any help?" Santana asks from the desk.

"Nope – ugh" Brittany grunts as she puts a bag in the proper place. "Can't ask you to help – ugh – you might sue us – ugh – if you get hurt," Brittany finishes putting that one bag in place and pats her hands together as if she's clapping off some dust.

After they're done, Brittany heads to the washroom and Santana is standing on the mats talking to Quinn as the members trickle in.

"Excuse me," Quinn says as she looks towards the door, "I have to sign these people in."

"Oh right! I still need to pay too!" Santana quickly says as she follows Quinn to the desk, but Quinn turns around and stops her.

"Nope, Brittany would have a fit if she knew I charged you for drop-in. I'm not allowed to."

"But I –"

"Nope," Quinn cuts her off, "Boss's orders!" She smiles and winks at Santana as she hurries to the desk and starts signing in the members.

Santana is standing there in a little bit of shock, just as a pair of black gloves are handed to her from behind.

"You should start carrying your own gloves or else someone might ask me to borrow them again."

Santana smiles and grabs the gloves before turning around, "But, then I'll have to carry a bag, and since you're already carrying a sport bag that fits two pairs, I just thought..." Santana looks at Brittany through her lashes, blinking quickly a few times.

"Fine!" Brittany rolls her eyes. "You're lucky I like you," she smirks looking into the beautiful brown eyes, down to her lips, and then back up to her eyes. She takes a deep breath through her nose and exhales quickly. Then, just as quickly turns around to greet some regulars.

Santana stands there, stunned, looking at Brittany. _She likes me._ Santana thinks her herself. Just then, a voice interrupts her thoughts.

"You should stop staring; you're making it so obvious." Santana turns around and sees Cassie with her arms folded across her chest and rolling her eyes.

"Excuse me?" Santana says with a little bit of attitude. She's getting a little annoyed with the way Cassie's pot is calling her kettle black.

"You're staring at Brittany and it's so obvious. Please," Cassie says with a tiny little smirk. "Like you'd have a chance," she mumbles under her breath, but not quiet enough for Santana not to hear.

"And what makes you think you do?" Santana says with her hands on her hips and a sway of the neck for added sass.

"Mm, you haven't seen my moves, Lopez. How about I make you a bet," Cassie takes a step closer and lowers her voice, "First one to kiss her wins," Cassie says with confidence. Santana arches an eyebrow and smirks. "Winner gets – wait – what?" Cassie says with her eyes wide and mouth opened. Santana just gives a bigger smirk and wiggles her eyebrows. Cassie's eyebrows furrow and her jaw tightens, "For all I know, you could have forced one upon her, calling it a kiss." She stops to think for a moment, "Let's make this more interesting. First one to sleep with her wins." Santana's mouth drops open as she looks away. Her eyes wide. She looks back at Cassie, unable to respond. She doesn't want to make that kind of bet on Brittany, and worst of all; she can't stop picturing the image of Cassie winning. "Scared, Lopez?" Cassie says when Santana doesn't answer. Cassie gives an evil smirk as she takes off her jacket, revealing a blue sports bra and abs to die for.

Santana's blood starts to boil as a fiery rage starts burning within her. No one speaks of Brittany like a game. Brittany isn't just some bet. She's about to unleash a boatload of bitch onto Cassie when Brittany approaches.

"Will you ladies be joining us today?"

Both Cassie and Santana snap their heads towards their instructor; noticing behind her the rest of the class staring at them as well. Apparently, Brittany has called the class to attention, but both girls were too into their own conversation that neither of them noticed.

Santana looks at Brittany and nods, giving her an apologetic half smile.

Cassie turns to look at Brittany as well, "Of course," she says sweetly and Santana rolls her eyes.

Brittany runs the class through a warm up and simple stretch with the music pumping out of the speakers. As they are stretching, Brittany walks around and helps some of the participants, and then she reaches Santana. She carefully puts her hand on the Latina's back as she pushes her forward so her fingers can touch the floor, she then whispers quietly so only the two of them can hear, "Are you okay?"

Santana takes a quick glance up and nods with the faintest smile.

Brittany gives a small smile and nods as well before standing back up and walking around the class again.

Brittany gets the class to put on their gloves and they start punching and kicking the bags to Brittany's instructions. This time, Santana is paired up with a young brunette girl. Cassie is on the other side of the mats.

Brittany does a few of the moves herself, before walking around again encouraging the class to keep going hard and helping those who are falling behind. She then gets everyone to form a circle with one partner on the outside of the circle, and the other on the inside. Each time they throw a combo, for example, jab-jab-cross-hook, the inner circle shuffles to their right and the outer circle shuffles to their own right, switching the partnership as they repeat the combination.

Santana is so proud of herself for being able to keep up with the rest of the class. She's having so much fun, and all her partners have been very supportive and encouraging. Brittany also shouting encouragement to the class every so often. "Keep it up everyone! Great job! Jab right, jab right, cross left, hook right! Don't get sloppy now, push yourself! Jab-jab-cross-hook! Turn your hip when you hook!"

Brittany is walking around the outside of the circle, monitoring everyone. Santana is in the inner circle working her ass off as she notices her next partner coming up. Cassie. She observes that Cassie's punches are right on point, hitting her partner's glove exactly where she wants. Hitting much harder than Santana could.

They switch partners and Santana is lined up with Cassie. Santana is up first. She does her double jab, a cross, and a hook. Hitting Cassie perfectly in the gloves like she's supposed to. Proud of herself for hooking so well with her right hand considering she's a lefty.

Now, it's Cassie's turn. Jab - jab - cross - hook. Cassie swings her hook extremely wide and Santana arches leaning backwards. Cassie's glove just barely missing Santana's face.

"What the fuck?" Santana yells out and the whole class turns to her attention, including Brittany.

"I'm so sorry," Cassie says apologetically with her hands out towards Santana, "My fault. Are you okay?"

Santana furrows her brows, but Cassie's performance was so convincing that no one would believe she did it on purpose.

"Keep going everyone!" Brittany says as she claps her hands together to bring the rhythm back to the class. The class takes their eyes off Santana slowly as they gather themselves and continue. As they swap over to their partners, Brittany walks up from behind Santana, "Watch your language please."

Santana stops and looks at her instructor with wide eyes, "But she –"

"I know," Brittany says as she puts her hand on Santana's shoulder trying to calm her down, "But still, the language."

Santana huffs as her body fills with anger. She understands that she disturbed the class and that she probably shouldn't have cursed, but it was a reflex, it just came out. She just nods and carries on, punching harder than she needs to.

As they begin to make their second round and Santana reaches Cassie again Santana clenches her teeth as her body tenses while she throws her punches hard against Cassie's gloves; jab right, jab right, cross left, hook right. Cassie, all the meanwhile, smirking like a bitch.

Once it's Cassie's turn, a devilish look enters her eyes. Jab right, jab right, cross left, hook… left. Unexpected, Santana doesn't lean back in time. She closes her eyes expecting to get hit, but she doesn't. She opens her eyes and sees Brittany gripping firmly onto Cassie's forearm. Brittany's eyes are serious, giving off a threatening look at Cassie, her jaw is tight as she shakes her head.

Cassie's expression is priceless. She is so shocked. Her eyes are wide and her mouth is opening and closing, trying to find an excuse. "I – I'm sorry. I – I think I lost count. I – must've, I'm sorry." She says while looking at Brittany.

"Don't apologize to me apologize to the girl you almost hit!" Brittany states, nodding her head towards Santana but not letting go of Cassie's arm.

Santana is still in shock. Her eyes are wide and her heart is pounding. Not only from the extensive workout, but from the fear of almost getting left hooked in the face. There are murmurs around the room, "What happened?" "Who did it?" "Shit, she looks pissed." "Dramaaaaa," one girl sings.

"I'm so sorry, Santana, I didn't mean to," Cassie says apologetically, "I don't know what happened to my count." Cassie looks scared and worried.

Santana knows that Cassie doesn't look scared and worried that she almost punched her – that was intentional. She just looks scared and worried that she got caught in the worst way possible.

Brittany lets go of Cassie's arm as she walks through the class. She separates the class back to singles and finishes off the work out without any partner or bag work. Her energy is still there, but she's obviously not as happy and perky as she was when class first started.

Brittany ends the class with a stretch out and cool down. Before the class finishes completely, Brittany has a few words. "This class is supposed to be a fun way to exercise, meet new friends, and encourage the people around you while being encouraged yourself to work as hard as you can. You're all here to work together to build something better for yourself and have fun doing it. If you're here to fight, you're here for the wrong reason. Fighting in this class is unacceptable and extremely immature, and I will not tolerate it. If I ever see anything like that again, your membership will be permanently terminated," Brittany says as she glances towards Cassie. The whole class nods and stays silent. "Other than that, everyone worked hard so you should be proud of yourselves. I'm sorry this happened in my class and I apologize to anyone who has been made to feel unsafe. This should be and is a safe environment. If you have any questions, please feel free to bring it up with me. So, that's it. Thank you all for coming," Brittany says with a forced smile.

Most of the class nods and smiles, some of them clap, some of them look scared. Cassie looks a little shook up, and Santana is scared seeing Brittany so upset.

Santana goes to grab her water bottle and makes her way to the change room while Brittany stays to answer questions.

Santana decides to take her time in the change room, shaking off her nerves. She washes her face and changes out of her sweaty clothes. When she heads out, she sits on one of the chairs by the reception. Quinn talking to some girls about memberships and selling another girl a bottle of water. Cassie is talking to another girl before she walks towards Brittany. Brittany stands there with her arms crossed. Cassie obviously apologizing to her. First, Brittany shakes her head. Then after a while, Cassie looks genuinely guilty and sad that even Santana feels sorry for her; Brittany nods.

"Everything okay?" Quinn asks when the final girl leaves.

Santana looks up and nods with a smile, "Yeah, everything's fine now."

"I didn't see what happened, but in all my time here, I have never seen Brittany like that before. She's damn scary when she's upset."

"Yeah, she is," Santana nods as she gets up and walks towards the desk. "Is that Cassie girl always like that?" She asks the shorter blonde quietly.

"No… Well, yeah. I mean, she's always blatantly flirting with Brittany, but I've never seen her act like this before. You must've done something to really piss her off. What did you do?"

Santana shakes her head, but she knows it's because she basically told her she kissed Brittany and now Cassie feels like she has competition.

Brittany and Cassie are walking to the desk and Santana huffs and turns to face Quinn. Quinn rolls her eyes.

Brittany's hands are in her jacket pocket as she leans on the desk, Cassie standing next to her like a very obedient dog.

Awkward silence fills the last four members of the studio.

"So, when's your next class?" Cassie asks as she touches Brittany's shoulder.

Brittany puckers her lips and shrugs, not looking at the other girl. "I'm not sure," she says, "I'll be going away again for about a month." Santana's face drops when Brittany looks up at her.

"Where are you going?" Cassie asks, hugging herself.

"To L.A.," Brittany says while looking into Santana's eyes, as Santana looks away."

"Oh," Cassie says quickly. "Well, your schedule is usually posted on the website, so I'll keep an eye out for your class. I gotta head out now. Thanks again for the class, Brittany." She rubs Brittany's back and then looks at Santana, "I'm sorry about what happened, so sorry. Are we okay?"

Santana looks quickly at Brittany and then back at Cassie and shrugs, "Yeah, sure."

"Cool," Cassie breathes out, "See you guys later." She turns and leaves.

Brittany exhales and looks up at Santana, "I'm sorry that happened."

Santana nods and chuckles, "You saved me once again."

Quinn looks between the two of them before sitting down and going through some paperwork.

Brittany breathes out a laugh and shrugs.

"When are you leaving?" Santana inquires, trying to sound like it doesn't bother her.

"Monday," Brittany says as she looks down at the floor, not making eye contact with Santana.

Santana's eyes widen before she lets the information sink in, "Another film?"

"Another shoot for K.O. Kandi," Brittany explains, "Their stunt double got injured, so I have to cover for her until she's ready to come back. They told me it would take about a month." Brittany says with a shrug, still not making eye contact with Santana.

"Will you be seeing Cody?" Quinn askes unexpectedly.

Brittany and Santana both snap their head up to look at Quinn. Brittany's brows are furrowed and Santana looks surprised, but Quinn's head is still down looking at the paperwork.

"Who's Cody?" Santana questions, looking back at Brittany.

"Just a guy I used to stunt with on the show," Brittany says with a shrug.

"Her ex-boyfriend," Quinn says. Brittany snaps her head back at Quinn with wide eyes and a look that screams out 'shut the fuck up'. Quinn's eyes go wide and quickly mouths, 'sorry,' and goes back to her work.

"Shall we go?" Brittany asks Santana with her lips sucked into her mouth.

Santana looks up at her and nods.

Brittany picks up her bag and says bye to Quinn while giving her a pointed look. Quinn giving her back an apologetic smile and says bye to both girls.

The girls walk back in relative silence before Santana can't hold it in anymore, "So, are you going to see him?"

AN: Sorry to leave it there guys. The chapter was getting too long. What a place to break the chapter eh? ;) I haven't had many (if any) cliff hangers for you guys, so I thought I'd tease a little. As for Cody, I wanted to use one of Brittany's actual ex's but then realized all of them have already appeared in my story. (Damnit, Sam would have been perfect for this… too late). Cody is actually a character on Glee as well, and since he's in the entertainment industry, I decided to give him a part in this universe. Plus, I can see him and Brittany hooking up if they had ever met on the show. (Pre-Brittana of course).

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Constructive criticism? Please be kind.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: This chapter is a continuation of the last one. It's a long chapter filled with a lot of fluff. Just a lot of cute stuff on their final night together.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

..."So, are you going to see him?"

Brittany takes a quick glance towards Santana and then looks back in front of her with her lips pursed and slowly nods, "Yeah, I have to. He's going to be filming too, and well… I promised I'd visit his cat."

"Why… do you have to… visit… his cat?" A very confused Santana asks while looking over at Brittany before they cross the street.

"Well, it was supposed to our cat," Santana's heart sinks down to her stomach. Ouch, that hurt. "I mean, it's his now. He took her when we broke up, and I promised I'd visit every time I go back to L.A."

"But you guys broke up," Santana says as she wonders why she still needs see her ex and his cat.

"Yeah, but - well, we didn't break up on bad terms…and I still had to work with him. I wanted to come back to Lima because L.A. was too fast for me and it made everything too confusing. He didn't understand, so we broke up because he wasn't willing to leave the Hollywood stunt life of L.A. and I wasn't willing to stay."

Santana nods, "So you're still good friends?"

"We're alright. He messages me once in a while, but I mostly just talk to him to see how the cat is doing. I haven't seen her in a while, so he keeps me updated."

"Are the feelings still there?" Santana asks timidly as she waits for Brittany to open her front door.

The suspense is killing her. Brittany doesn't answer her. It probably only took about 3 seconds for Brittany to unlock the door and open it, but to Santana, it felt like 3 minutes. "No, no feelings. I thought there might have been the first time I went back to L.A. after we officially broke up and I was kind of scared that we'd end up getting back together, and have the same arguments about living in different cities and break up again, but I was surprisingly over him," Brittany smiles and looks over at Santana, who is eyeing her cautiously.

"But what about him? What about his feelings?"

Brittany looks away, bites her lower lip, and shrugs, "I don't know. Last time I went back to visit the cat, he asked me to stay the night," Santana feels a pang of jealousy and sadness, "but I didn't. I didn't want to. I didn't like him like that anymore. He got mad at me, but we managed reach an understanding."

Brittany plops down on the couch, Santana sitting on the other end. Brittany gives a little pout but decides to give Santana the distance if she wants it. They sit in silence. Then Santana finally nods and looks up at Brittany. Brittany on the other hand, was already looking at Santana, trying to read her emotions.

"So you're not worried this time?" Santana asks, not even sure what she's really saying. She feels insecure about the ex she never met.

"Worried about what? About having feelings for him again?" Brittany scrunches up her face and chuckles, "No, I'm not worried. I'm too busy liking someone else."

Santana looks up and sees Brittany smiling at her and she smiles back as she looks down at her hands that are in lap, blushing. "Okay, good," Santana breathes out.

"What should we do tonight?" Brittany asks, breaking the silence.

Santana thinks for a moment, "I want you to teach me something," she says as she sits up and turns her body towards the blonde.

Brittany quirks her head to the side, "Teach you what?"

"I don't know. Teach me how to spar or something. I want to learn how to fight. Not just self defense, but real fighting," Santana says, all excited and doing hand gestures, imitating karate chops and punches. Then she kicks her foot up and falls backward, lying on the couch, foot still up in the air.

"Oh, God," Brittany groans as she covers her eyes with the palm of her hand. "Really, Santana? Did you just do that? Did you just mock my career?" She shakes her head smiling, finally dropping her hand from her eyes.

Santana laughs and gets back up into the sitting position, "You mean, that's not how you do it?" She tries to ask as seriously as possible.

Brittany just shakes her head and chuckles to herself. "How about this," Brittany says as she scoots closer to Santana. Her couch is three cushions long. Santana was on the left one and now Brittany scooted from the right to the middle one. "We'll go to this little place down the street and grab a couple slices of pizza. Then we'll grab one of their pies - they are to die for - and come back here and I'll teach you some moves… Moves that aren't those," Brittany sticks her arm out, gesturing at Santana's body.

"Sounds good," Santana says as she reaches over to slap Brittany's arm away. "And if you're a good teacher, I'll teach you some of MY moves." She does a few more karate chops and puffs up her cheeks. She freezes in a serious karate position pretending to focus on an imaginary opponent.

Brittany quickly grabs Santana's wrist and flips her over to her side, pinning her onto the couch and straddling her. Santana gives a quick yelp as she lands back first onto the soft couch cushion. "Can you show me those moves again?" Brittany says in a soft, low voice bringing shivers through Santana's body.

"I - uhh -," Santana stutters, unable to find the words. Her mouth opens and closes a few times and she just ends up shutting them when she can't figure out what to say. She doesn't even remember what the question was. She just stares into the piercing blue eyes that are looking down at her. Her right arm is pinned above her head and her left arm is pinned down by her leg.

"Hm? can you?" Brittany husks. Lowering her head towards Santana's. Their nose only a couple inches apart. Santana only manages to shake her head slightly, not able to take her eyes away. "Why not?" Santana only shakes her head again and gives a one shoulder shrug; barely noticeable.

"Fine then, I guess I'll be the only one demonstrating moves then." Santana nods as Brittany leans in and kisses her, slowly and softly. She lets go of Santana's lower arm and moves it to place on her hip. Their lips melting together rhythmically, like a slow love song. Brittany's lips taste like what she feels clouds in heaven would taste like.

Brittany slowly lets go of Santana's right wrist - the one pinned above her head - and slides it up, tangling their fingers together. They stay in that position for a few moments as their tongues find each other and begin to dance. Brittany brings their clasped hands over her own shoulder and drops Santana's hand there, leaving it on her shoulder, as her own hand makes its way back down and places it behind her neck, fiddling with the hairs closet to her.

Santana's body begins to heat up quickly. She feels her heart racing and her lady parts throbbing for attention. Santana shifts, trying to close her legs tightly to ease the pressure, but instead, Brittany accidently grinds down so her crotch pushes down against Santana's pelvic bone. Santana inhales sharply through her nose, trying to avoid a moan.

Just then, Santana's phone beeps. Brittany is about to break the kiss. Santana feels Brittany pulling away and she pulls her back down with the hand that has been resting on Brittany's shoulder. "Mm-mm," Santana mumbles.

They continue but her phone beeps again. This time, Brittany breaks the kiss and Santana huffs with frustration. Brittany reaches towards the coffee table and grabs Santana's phone for her and hands it to the girl under her.

Santana takes a deep breath as she reads a text, furrowing her eyebrows as Brittany waits. Hovering above her.

Santana pouts and types out a quick text before locking her phone again and dropping it on to the couch next to her.

"What's wrong?" Brittany asks when she sees that Santana's pout isn't going anywhere.

"Today is my last night here," Santana says. Looking even more disappointed now that she says it out loud. "That was Kurt, telling me that he's packed and ready to move over to Blaine's place tomorrow. He washed all my dishes and I had some mail on my coffee table, blah blah. yaddi ya," Santana sighs.

Brittany's lips form an 'O' shape, and looks quite disappointed too. "Well then," She says after taking in a dep breath, "I guess we should have fun tonight!" She smiles and leans down to peck at Santana's lips and then pecks her nose before sitting up and shaking off her arousal. "Let's go get some pizza!"

Santana gives a tight lipped smile and nods, lifting a hand so Brittany can help pull her up from lying flat on the couch. She sits there momentarily before shaking out her wrists and taking in a quick inhale and exhale. "Okay, let's go!"

Brittany looks at her and gives a big smile. Santana can't help but give a happy smile herself; showing her left dimple.

Brittany gets up, pulling Santana up by the wrist as they both grab a thin jacket and making their way towards the door. Brittany grabbing her purse on the way out.

* * *

The girls walk a couple blocks and grab some pizza. They eat it there and chat. They talk about Kurt and how he and Santana met at school. He's best friends with Rachel, who is friends with Mercedes, and somehow Santana got involved with singing with them. She tells Brittany about how annoying Rachel was in high school, and even til this day. She told her how she dropped by unannounced and stayed a couple of days and how she made Rachel buy her breakfast, lunch, and dinner and how she forbid her to make any noise after Rachel woke her up super early in the morning with her screeching in the shower. Brittany couldn't help but laugh, almost spitting out her soda.

After they ate, Brittany buys a pie to go and they take it back home so they can enjoy it while chilling on the couch.

Once they get home, they get changed back into their comfy clothes and Brittany puts the pie in the oven to heat up while Santana flips through the channels.

"Do you want ice cream?" Brittany asks.

"Ohh! A la mode! Yes please!"

"What are you going to mold it into?" Brittany asks with a tilt of her head and a confused look on her face.

"What?" Santana chuckles.

"You said, 'I'll a mold.' What are you molding? The ice cream?"

Santana closes her eyes and smiles to herself while shaking her head before looking back up at Brittany still standing at the entrance of the kitchen. "A la mode, Britt. That just means with ice cream."

"Oh... " Brittany thinks for a while then scratches her temple, "Okay!" Brittany smiles and shrugs as she skips back into the kitchen to prepare the strawberry pie a la mode.

Santana sees Brittany walking out with a plate of pie a la mode and a fork. She sits down carefully on to the couch and hands the plate to Santana.

Santana takes a bite and moans in pleasure, "This is so good, Britt!" She takes another bite before handing the pie to her patiently waiting friend.

"Right? I told you, it's amazing!" She takes a big bite of the pie before forking some ice cream and stuffing it in her mouth too.

"Hey, save some for me," Santana whines as she reaches over for the plate.

Brittany pulls it away and laughs when Santana falls forward. Santana sits up and pouts. "Okay,fine, here!" Brittany says as she hands her the plate, but she doesn't give her the fork.

Santana hold her hand out for the fork, but Brittany just leans in and stabs at another piece of pie, before putting in her mouth and laughing at Santana with wide eyes and a shocked look on her face.

"Hey!" Santana says as she pulls the plate back. She sticks out her tongue, threatening to lick the pie. "Give me the fork, or I will own this pie!"

Brittany shrugs, "I dare ya."

Santana keeps her eyes on Brittany as she leans down and licks the top of the pie. Then she moves to lean over the ice cream and swipes a chunk out of it with her tongue.

Brittany swallows thickly before handing over the fork, not taking her eyes off Santana.

Santana smirks and takes the fork and digs it into the ice cream before scooping up a piece of pie and shoving the combo into her mouth and humming in pleasure. She does it again, ice cream then pie. She lifts it again towards her mouth but looks up at Brittany. Seeing the blonde lick her lips, Santana decides to hold her fork up to her. Brittany smiles and leans in, taking in the delicious combo.

"Now you have my cooties," Santana laughs as she finishes off the last bite.

"And they're delicious," Brittany says seductively as she wipes the corner of her mouth.

Santana places the plate down on the small coffee table in front of them. Then looks at Brittany and claps her hand once, "So, teach me, Master," she says as she puts her hand together and bows her head.

Brittany rolls her eyes and glares her. She stands up and pushes the coffee table out of the way. Santana follows and stands up to face her.

"What do you want to learn?" Brittany asks as she shakes out her wrists.

"A throw. Teach me how to trip people!" Santana says excitedly as she bounces on the balls of her feet.

"Ok, throw a punch at me." Brittany says, and Santana does so.

"Actually, why don't I teach you how to make a proper fist, first?" Brittany says as she observes Santana's lack of knowledge in that department.

"What's wrong with my fist?" Santana says, looking down at it.

"Well, first off," Brittany holds onto Santana's wrist with one hand and Santana's thumb between her own thumb and index finger of her other hand. "This should be tucked in here," She bends Santana's thumb down so it's just covering the outside of her first two fingers but tucked under her knuckles at the same time. "If you have it sticking out the way you did, you could easily break your thumb or your nail if you actually made contact with an object."

Santana's mouth forms an "O" as she looks down at her new and improved fist and nods. She does the same with her other hand. Then she starts bouncing around like a boxer, throwing jabs at Brittany.

"Come at me, bro!" Santana says as she continues to hop around.

Brittany shakes her head and swiftly grabs Santana's wrist when she throws her next jab, pulls her in, grabs her by the waist with her other arm, sticks her leg behind her, leaning forward and pushing her back. Santana yelps and loses her balancing quickly falling to the floor, but Brittany has a tight hold on her so she sets her on the floor gently. Santana is lying on the floor and Brittany is standing above her with her hand on her hips, chuckling, "You mean like that?"

"Teach me!," Santana says as she gets up again.

"Okay," Brittany says as she throws a slow punch towards Santana. "Grab my wrist with your left hand," Santana does so, "Okay, good. Now place your other hand on my waist." Santana swallows and does so hesitantly. "Pull me towards you and put your right leg behind mine." Santana does so, but she puts her leg too far away from Brittany. "Closer, like right up against my leg, now if you want more power you can always swing your leg quickly so I don't have a chance to react and then push me backwards so I don't have anywhere else to go but down."

Santana does so and Brittany falls back slowly at first, then Santana lets go and Brittany falls onto her back with a loud thud and groans. Santana covers her mouth, "Oh my God, Britt, I'm so sorry." Brittany curls into a ball and continues to groan, "Britt, are you okay? I'm so sorry!" Santana panics and goes onto her knees trying to figure out if she should touch her or not. As soon as Santana reaches out, Brittany opens her eyes quickly with a big smile and grabs Santana's forearm and flips her over and rolls over onto Santana's stomach and pins her down.

"Gotcha!" Brittany says quickly with a big smile.

"Cheater," Santana says seriously. "I was worried about you," Santana looks away, upset.

"Well, did you actually expect that little fall to hurt me, San? You've seen the stuff I do."

"I don't know, I thought maybe you fell wrong or like…"

"Or that you were THAT good?" Brittany cuts her off. Santana pulls her arms into herself and crosses it over her chest, not looking at Brittany. She's still lying on the floor with Brittany still straddling her. "Aww, I'm joking, San," Brittany says as she tries to pry Santana's arms from the folded position on her chest, but Santana won't let her. "Come on, San," Brittany pleads worriedly.

As quickly as she can, Santana grabs Brittany's arm and tries to flip her over, but Brittany doesn't budge. She tries again and Brittany's eyes only widen as she starts to laugh. "Oh, come on!" Santana says and Brittany laughs harder. "Okay, so how do I get you off of me?" Santana asks.

"Keep trying. See if you can figure it out," Brittany says, as she sits steady on Santana's stomach. Santana thinks. She tries to push Brittany over by her hips, no luck. She tries to lift Brittany's knee over and flip her to the other side, nope. Santana has her hands in front of Brittany trying to figure out where to grab. She grabs at her arm, but doesn't know what to do. Brittany has a smug smile on her face as Santana tries to figure this puzzle out. She tries to turn over, but Brittany has her trapped.

Then quickly, catching Brittany off guard, Santana sits up as much as she can, grabs Brittany by the shirt with both hands and pulls her down. Not wanting her shirt to rip, Brittany falls forward, and Santana keeps pulling until Brittany's chest is on top of hers and Santana slams their lips together. Brittany's body tenses on top of hers but then when she realizes what's going on, she relaxes and kisses back. Santana lets go of Brittany's shirt and wraps her arms around her waist tightly, pulling the blonde into her as close as possible.

Santana slowly slides one leg onto the outside of Brittany's and Brittany easily lets her. Now, Santana has one leg between Brittany as she slowly lifts it up. Brittany's breath hitches and Santana moans. Santana feels Brittany's breathing begin to quicken, turned on by that moan of hers.

Then out of nowhere, Santana flips Brittany over, straddles her, pulls back from the kiss, sits on Brittany's stomach and raises her hands above her head in victory. "I win!" she yells out in excitement as she breathes out quickly. Brittany's eyes are wide and her breathing is still heavy; in complete shock as to what had just happened. "Miss Pierce, you seem more out of breath than me."

Brittany opens and closes her mouth, then licks her lips. Completely lost for words. She huffs then rolls her eyes with a smile, "Okay, okay, Santana. You win."

"Yessss…" Santana says while pumping her fist twice. She runs her hand through her beautiful dark locks and stands up, holding a hand out for Brittany. Brittany grabs her hand and stands up, facing each other.

Brittany holds Santana's left hand with her own and swipes her thumb across the brunette's knuckles. "What is this?" Brittany asks shyly.

"These are knuckles, Britt," Santana says with a smart-ass smirk.

Brittany just rolls her eyes, holding Santana's hand with both of her own now. "No, I mean, what are we?"

Santana tightens her hold on Brittany's hand, "I - I don't know. What do you want it to be?"

Brittany swallows hard and keeps her eyes on their hands, "I want - I want this to be something. I want us to be something, but…"

Santana's heart drops at the last word, "but..."

"But what if it doesn't work out? What if - what if we break up and we're not friends anymore? You're like the bestest friend I've ever had and I don't want to ruin it."

Santana puts her free hand on Brittany's cheek and Brittany looks up at her. "Or it can turn into something amazing, and trust me, even if things don't work out, we'll still be best friends. I care about you way too much to have you leave my life." Santana says as she smiles. Brittany smiles back.

Then Santana frowns, which causes Brittany to frown, "What's wrong? You changed your mind already?" Brittany asks with a tilt of the head.

Santana exhales through her nose and smiles at the adorable head tilt Brittany does, "No - no I haven't changed my mind but," Brittany furrows her brows, listening intently, "but you're leaving on Monday… for a whole month. Won't it be kind of silly to date but not actually be able to date? Especially if you're going back to see an ex-boyfriend," Santana mumbles the last part.

"I'm not going to see him. I'm going to work and he just happens to work in the same industry," Brittany clarifies.

"But you have to go to his place to see your cat."

"Exactly, I'm going to see the cat, not him. Santana, I don't have feelings for him anymore."

Santana purses her lips and nods. She gently taps on Brittany's hand - still holding hers, and takes in a deep breath, "How about this?" she asks, "We put this on hold - staying best friends of course. You go to L.A. and do your thing, and when you come back, we'll continue where we left off."

Brittany pouts her famous pout. Her bottom lip jutting out, and nods. Santana pokes at her bottom lip causing Brittany to tighten her lip and give a small smile. "Fine," Brittany breathes out. "Then you got to let me take you out on a real date."

Santana smiles, and then thinks about what day it is and how many days left before Brittany leaves. 3 days. Santana is about to suggest an unofficial date over the weekend but then her phone starts playing Niki Minaj, and Santana groans having to let go of Brittany's hand to pick up her phone sitting on the coffee table.

"Hey, Mercedes," Santana says as soon as she picks up the phone. They talk for a while, Santana stealing glances at Brittany. Brittany cleans up the pie plate and starts loading the dishwasher.

 _"_ _Santana! It's been so long. You haven't been updating me with anything. What's new?"_

"I'm sorry. I've been really busy, and to be honest, I kind of forgot. So sorry," Santana says as she plops down on to the couch.

" _Geez, look at you. Now that you're a movie big shot, you forget about your agent and friend? Speaking of being your friend, how's the crush situation?"_

Santana glances over at the kitchen as Brittany rinses off a few dishes before putting them in the dishwasher as well, "I actually have a lot to tell you about filming, I really don't like working with that Noah Puckerman idiot,"

"ME NEITHER!" Brittany calls out from the kitchen, and Santana looks over to her and smiles.

 _"_ _Who was that?"_ Mercedes asks. Santana can't think of an excuse. " _Oh my God, is that the mystery girl? You're hanging out with her again? Are you guys together yet? Please tell me you're dating and I can know her name!"_

"Yes, but no. Not yet," Santana says a little quieter. "We will catch up at Breadstix again and I'll tell you more."

 _"_ _You're really just gonna leave me hanging, Lopez?"_

"Yes, for now."

 _"_ _Fine, this is a business call anyway. I assume you're either almost finished or even completely finished Hammer's Time, and I have another audition lined up for you."_

"Yeah, I actually just finished filming and I tell you, I ain't going back. And I'm not going to audition for anything that has Noah Puckerman in it."

 _"_ _Well, I don't think he'll be in this. It's a musical."_ Santana is about to object, " _Before you object,"_ Mercedes says knowingly, _"It's actually a great opportunity for you to showcase your other talent, singing. You're a great actress, Santana, but you're an amazing singer. Just give it a try."_

Santana huffs, "I'll think about it."

 _"_ _You don't have much time to think about it, auditions are on Saturday."_

"Saturday? But I was going to... " Santana stops herself as she looks at Brittany drinking a bottle of water. Realizing that there isn't anything official about them right now, she realizes that going on that date might backfire if anything happens between Brittany and her ex, she will only hurt more. "Never mind, I'll go."

 _"_ _Great! Okay, the audition is this Saturday at 11am. I'll text you the address later. If you get it … when you get it, we will celebrate again and you need to update me, woman!"_

Santana chuckles. Mercedes is really a great friend to her. "You're right, we do need to catch up. We'll find a day next week."

 _"_ _Great! Keep me posted. Remember to bring a song with you to the auditions. Good luck, Santana. Bye."_

"Thank you. Bye"

Santana hangs up the phone and places it back down onto the coffee table before turning around and looking at Brittany.

Brittany is leaning against the wall, giving Santana some space and waiting for her to finish her call.

"Was that your agent? Do you have another audition?" Brittany says as she walks towards the couch and sits down next to Santana.

"It was and I do!"

"When is the audition? What is it for? A T.V. show? A Movie?" Brittany asks, excitedly.

Santana blushes and looks down, "It's on Saturday and it's a mmmykl," Santana mumbles.

"A what?" Brittany asks leaning towards Santana and furrowing her brows.

"It's a mmrrykl."

"Santana, stop mumbling."

"It's a musical, okay?" Santana leans back against the couch and covers her face with her hands.

Brittany's mouth is wide open as her eyes light up. "Ohmygosh! You're auditioning for a musical? That's so awesome! You can sing and dance and act and it's going to be so much fun!" Brittany says with enthusiasm, bouncing up and down on the couch. Santana just shrugs. "Ooh, ooh!" Brittany adds, "Do you have to get to choose the song you sing at the audition?"

Santana bites her bottom lip as she tries to think of a song, "yeah," she nods.

"How about supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? Or Hakuna Matata? Or - or You can't Stop the Beat from Hairspray?"

"Those are all too upbeat, Britt. I need something a little slower."

Both girls think for a moment. Then Brittany yells out "Rizzo!" And Santana jumps.

"What?" Santana asks, with her hand to her heart after Brittany killed the silence and scared her.

"From Grease! Rizzo had that solo song. I forgot the name of it though. I think it would suit you perfectly."

"There are worst things I could do," Santana says.

"I don't think the song is that bad," Brittany says with a pout. "I actually liked that song."

Santana reaches over and pulls at Brittany's bottom lip. "No, silly. That's the name of the song. There Are Worst Things I Could Do," Santana says as she pokes at Brittany's lip before dropping her hand. "That's a great idea, Britt. I think I'll go with that song."

Brittany's face lights up, "Yay! You're doing my song!"

"It's a great choice, Britt. Thank you. See, I told you, you were smart! That's the perfect song choice," Santana gleams. Brittany smiles shyly and shrugs. Santana grabs Brittany's hand with both of her own, "So, what should we do now?"

Both girls think for a moment before Brittany looks at Santana with a huge grin. Santana quirks an eyebrow. "You can sing! Practice your song!" Brittany exclaims.

Santana widens her eyes and shakes her head, "No, not yet. I'll prepare alone and when I feel ready I'll practice in front of you."

"But your audition is on Saturday and today is already Thursday," Brittany whines.

Santana tilts her head with a smile as if to say, 'so what?'

Brittany sighs and they both go back to thinking about how they're going to spend their last evening together.

"Let's just talk," Santana says and Brittany nods with a smile. Santana isn't usually one to talk and have deep conversations, but for some reason she wants to talk all night with Brittany. She wants to learn everything she can about this girl. Brittany gets up from the couch and heads to the kitchen. "Where are you going?" Santana asks.

Brittany comes out with a bottle of red wine and two glasses, "If we're going to chat, we gonna do it right." Brittany places the glasses on the coffee table and fills them each half way; handing one to Santana and then plopping back down onto the couch with her own.

"Where are you staying in L.A.?" is the first question that comes out of Santana's mouth. It's safe and it's PG.

"A hotel," Brittany answers. "The company puts us up in a hotel for the duration of our shoot. It's not always the best hotels, depending on the company, but I'm pretty easy going when it comes to accommodation. What about you?" Santana tilts her head in confusion, she's not going to L.A., "I mean, how come you're here in Ohio when you could be in L.A.? Isn't that where all the actors go?"

Santana chuckles and shakes her head. "I've lived there for a few months and it was pretty good. I think I could continue living there if I wanted to. I came back because my Abuela got sick and I had to help my mom take care of her since my Father was always working and was barely home long enough to sleep. She's fine now, but I want to stay in town in case she needs me again, I owe that to her, she basically raised me. Besides, if Mercedes ever finds me an audition there or wherever she thinks I should go, I probably will, but for the meantime I don't have any issues being here. I can make a decent living and I get a reasonable amount of jobs here."

The girls continue talking. Taking turns asking each other questions. With every sip of their wine, their questions get more intimate.

"What was your first time like?" Santana dared to ask.

"Boy or girl?" Brittany asks back while taking another sip.

"Whichever was first."

Brittany thinks then starts to giggle. Santana cocks her head to the side and sits up a little, getting ready to hear her story. "I was 15," Brittany starts. "He was one of my training coaches and he was quite a bit older. I didn't even really want to, he kind of pressured me. Well, not really. Like, I agreed to it but I wasn't giving him much of anything and I felt bad for him. I thought I loved him at the time, and what better time to have sex than with a guy I thought I loved, right?"

"Sure?" Santana says, getting a little bit uncomfortable at the thought that Brittany was tricked into having sex for the first time.

"Anyway, it was kind of a blur to me because I wasn't even ready. My parents had left for a grocery run and I knew we had approximately 45mins to do what we needed to do, but in all honesty, we didn't even need that much time," Brittany laughs.

"What do you mean? and how much older was he?"

"He was about 8 years older. There was no foreplay, I don't even think I was wet enough." Just the thought of Brittany talking about being wet made Santana shift uncomfortably in her seat. Maybe this was the wrong question to ask but Brittany continues. "We took all necessary precautions because well, how bad would it have been if anything had happened when I was 15, especially that fact that he was my coach. Let's put it this way, I'm not even sure this counts because he came before he even got it in. I mean, he tried, like really tried, but…" Brittany uses her hand to make an explosion gesture and the girls looked at each other for a moment before bursting out into laughter. "Yup, I felt nothing," Brittany finishes before filling up her glass again, and then topping Santana off. "Your turn."

"One word, painful," Santana starts. "It was some hot shot football player at school. I was about 15 as well. We were at a party and everyone around us was making out, so we did too. He told me it was his first time as well, but I found out later that it was a lie. We locked ourselves in the host's younger brother's bedroom and holy crap did it hurt. Needless to say, I didn't enjoy it. He was nice enough to make sure I was ready, so I give him props for that. But after we were done, he kind of just rolled over and was done with it. A few minutes later, he was back at the party and drinking with his friends. He had told them all about the easy lay he had. Found out the next day that he had a girlfriend in a different school, and word got out about our hook up. Bitch came to our school the next day to start a fight with me, but I put her down, Lima heights style," Santana says while punching her left fist into her right palm, and then shrugs, "I was kind of known as the class slut and badass from then on. Stealing guys' chicks and whatnot. So I just went with it. Boosted my status, made me popular, and girls were afraid of me. That was high school though, I've changed," she says a little calmer with a small shrug.

"I don't think you've changed," Brittany says then purses her lips and crinkles it to the side.

Santana's eyes widen then her eye brows scrunch together, "What do you mean? I have changed. I'm not a total bitch anymore… well, not as much at least," she says as she runs her fingers through her hair.

"No, I mean like, I don't think you were a bitch at all. You were just misunderstood and protecting yourself. I think that – I think that if we went to high school together we would have been friends and I would have been able to see the kind, sweet, caring person that you are," Brittany says into her wine as she plays with glass around her fingers.

"You think so, huh?"

Brittany looks up at Santana and looks deep into her eyes, gives a faint smile, and nods, "I do."

"You wouldn't have been afraid of me?" Santana asks as she tops Brittany off and pours the rest of the bottle in her own glass.

Brittany laughs and rolls her eyes, "Please, I've seen your moves."

Santana's jaw drops as she holds up a finger to Brittany telling her to hold on as she finishes off her wine. She gently sets the glass down, and cautiously takes Brittany's glass out of her hands and places it onto the table as well. The moment the glass touches the table, Santana turns and tackles Brittany.

Brittany yelps as she struggles to get away, both of them rolling off the couch. Brittany manages to get away but once she stands up, Santana grabs her ankle and Brittany falls on to the couch. Santana quickly gets up and pins Brittany down. "You ain't seen nothing yet, Pierce." Santana starts jabbing Brittany with her fingers at her most ticklish spots and Brittany rolls onto the couch with laughter, trying to hold down Santana's arms.

"I have to pee. I have to pee," Brittany cries out and Santana's jabbing comes to a stop. Brittany flips Santana over and boops her on the nose, "Just kidding." Before Santana even realizes what happened, Brittany leaps over the back of the couch and runs up the stairs.

Santana follows suit and tackles Brittany when she traps herself in her bedroom with nowhere else to go. She starts poking at her ticklish spots again until Brittany turns bright red and has hard time breathing.

"Tell me I have awesome moves," Santana says in between tickles.

Brittany is too busy laughing and gasping for air, trying to curl up into a ball, "I can't – I can't – San –"

"Tell me I have awesome moves," Santana repeats, not giving into Brittany this time.

"Okay – okay. You win. You – have – I can't – breathe. You have – awesome moves, San!" Brittany finally manages to get out.

Santana stops and flops down next to Brittany on the bed completely exhausted. Damn that girl is strong.

Brittany's laughing finally subsides as she wipes the tears from her eyes. She turns and looks at Santana. Both girls' cheeks are flushed pink as they smile at each other. They turn back to look at the ceiling while they catch their breath.

"What are you going to do with your cat?" Santana blurts out after minutes of silence.

Brittany turns to look at her. Santana already has her eyes on the blonde. "My sister usually takes care of him when I'm away. She'll either stay at my house while I'm gone or she'll take him to my parent's house. It's up to her." Santana nods, and turns back at the ceiling. "Let's get ready for bed," Brittany adds as she swiftly gets up and heads towards the bathroom.

Santana gets up as well and heads towards the guestroom to change. While she's there, she trying to decide if she should attempt to sleep in the same bed as Brittany again or stay in her own room this time. She doesn't know if sleeping with her would cross some sort of boundary they never really established. She slowly walks herself towards Brittany's bedroom to wash up.

When she finishes, she decides not to risk it and heads towards the door, "Goodnight, Britt."

"Where are you going?" Brittany lets out.

"To my room?"

"Oh…"

"Unless – do you want to get your cuddle on?"

Brittany tries to tuck away her smile as she shrugs, "I just thought – maybe – since today is our last night together, we can continue to chat until we get tired, then you can go back to your room if you want."

This time it's Santana's turn to feel a little disappointed. _She only wants to chat?_ "I'm actually feeling pretty sleepy, I think I'll head to bed now. Night, Britts." Santana drops her head down and makes her way to her room, turning off the lights, and climbing into bed. A few minutes later, Santana feels a cold breeze from where the blanket has been lifted from behind and a weight falls onto the mattress. She can't help but feel her heart jump as she forces herself to not turn around and face the person who just happened to plop down next to her. "What are you doing here?" she asks in a soft voice.

"I wanted to continue chatting," Brittany says.

"What did you want to chat about?" Santana asks as she continues to face the wall.

Brittany stays silent for a moment before shifting forward, "How was your day?"

Santana lets out a silent laugh, "My day was pretty good considering I almost got my face smashed in by a jealous blonde at a killer kickboxing class."

"How is it good then? I'm sorry about that by the way."

"Not your fault, Britt," she reminds the blonde. "It was good because I had an extremely sexy instructor that saved me from getting a black eye, had some delicious pizza, got in a pretty hot make out session, and learned a lot about a friend of mine."

"Oh really?" Brittany questions as she scoots even closer, sliding her arms around Santana's waist sending shivers up her spine – in a good way. "Sound like you had quite the day."

"Mhm," Santana mumbles as she starts to drift in and out of sleep. Feeling incredibly comfortable wrapped in Brittany's arms.

They lay there for a while before Brittany pulls Santana in until she is completely spooning her. Santana snuggles up against Brittany's front, holding on to the hand that's now resting on her stomach.

"I'm going to miss you when you move out," Brittany whispers into Santana's hair.

Santana feels her heart sink as she remembers that she doesn't actually live there, and an even more melancholy feeling washes over her when she recalls that Brittany is leaving for L.A. "I'm going to miss you when you leave," Santana whispers out in response.

Brittany just hugs her tighter. Santana twists slightly so she can face Brittany. She tucks her hand under Brittany's cheek as she leans in for a slow peck, twice. She pulls away as she grazes Brittany's soft cheek with her thumb. She turns back around and settles herself again against Brittany's chest. Brittany holds her close and kisses the back of her head before both of them fall asleep on their final night of sleepovers.

* * *

AN: I hope this story isn't getting too boring and long. I know a lot of you are waiting for the girls to officially be together, but they will have to go through some difficult distance before that happens. Sorry. Please let me know if the fluff is getting too long. I've been pretty sick so my mind is a little foggy. When I re-read the chapter I wasn't too happy with it.

Comments? Reviews? Constructive Criticism? Please be honest but kind.


	16. Chapter 16

AN: Hi All. Thank you for your support so far. Apparently people are happy with fluff. Don't worry though, things are moving along. There will be a few bumps in the road, but our girls are getting there. I'm going in for a minor surgery in 2 weeks so I hope to get at least another 2 chapters out to you before then. I'll have to miss a week or two during recovery, so nothing will be posted during that time. But don't worry. I'll never abandon this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

Santana wakes up to the sound of her phone going off. She reaches towards the night stand, knocking over a box of tissues and a book. She finally grabs her phone and looks at the caller ID and grunts.

"What do you want, Hummel?"

" _Good morning to you too, Satan. Just wanted to let you know that Blaine and I are leaving your place now. We left your place probably cleaner than it was before we got there. Do you want me to leave the key in your apartment or bring it over to Brittany's?"_

"Just leave it there," Santana mumbles out, finally starting to wake up.

" _Alright. Thank again, Santana for letting us use your place. I owe you one."_

"Fuck yeah, you do."

They both say their goodbyes (More like Kurt said his goodbye and Santana grunted) and Santana hangs up, turning around to nothing but an empty spot. She looks at the time. 10:10am. She groans and face plants back into the pillow, inhaling the scent of Brittany. She knows she should probably get up now, but if this is going to be her last time in this bed, she wants to get as much out of it as possible. Her body relaxes and she drifts off once again.

"San,"

Santana stirs and mumbles. Shutting her eyes even tighter as she presses her face into the pillow.

"Santana, get up, it's noon."

Turning her head to face a lovely blonde is probably something she could get used to. Brittany is smiling at her as she brushes her hair away from her face.

"What's for lunch?"

Brittany laughs as she takes Santana by the arm and drags her out of bed, "I don't know about you, but I'm heating up the frozen lasagna we made last time."

Santana nods and goes to the bathroom to wash up.

They have a nice lunch while chit-chatting. Santana mentions that she still needs to pack her stuff and that Kurt and Blaine left already. Brittany pouts then nods.

Brittany has to rehearse today anyways, so she won't be able to spend much time with Santana. She needs to work with a choreographer for her scene. It's rare that she ever needs to use a chair as a prop, but she has to make it work somehow. She has a friend that's a weapons master and has agreed to come up with something for her to work on so she can show the director in L.A. what she has been practising and then Brittany and whoever she is fighting will have a week to practice before filming.

After giving each other a tight hug and a shy peck, the girls go their separate ways. Once Santana is home, she unlocks her door, and to her surprise her apartment is immaculate. Kurt wasn't lying when he said he left it neater than she had on their first night. She puts her spare key away and throws her dirty laundry into her hamper. She sits on the couch then decides to look up lyrics to _There Are Worst Things I could Do_ and starts rehearsing for her audition the next day. She wasn't even sure what kind of character she was playing or what the musical was about, but Mercedes just told her to show up with a song, so that's just what she'll do.

Santana practices until she's almost sick of the song. She looks at the time and it's been a solid two hours, she goes into the kitchen to rummage through the fridge. Kurt and Blaine had left some salad fixings so she decides to make herself a salad with a hardboiled egg, cheese, and chicken.

It has been about five hours since she left Brittany's but Santana was longing to hear her voice again. How is she going to last a month without the blonde? Santana picks up her phone and calls. She doesn't even know what she wants to talk about, all she knows is that she wants to hear her voice.

" _Hey, San_!" Brittany says quickly after four rings.

"Hi, Britt. Whatchu doin?"

 _"I'm still learning the choreography and practicing at the gym, what's up?"_

"Oh, nothing really. Just kinda bored and wanted to see how your training was going."

 _"It's going great. I think we should be done in a couple more hours. Brett and Sam and I are going to grab dinner afterwards, did you want to join us?"_

"Sam? As in…"

 _"Yeah! You know Sam don't you? Yeah, him and Brett are good friends so Sam is helping us record the choreography and hanging out with us until we are done."_

 _Oh great, Trouty will be there hitting on Brittany as she gets all sweaty and bendy in front of him._ "Yeah, sure. Just call me when you're finished and let me know where to meet you."

 _"Sounds good. I gotta get back to work now, see you later."_

"Bye, Britt."

No more than 20 minutes later, Santana's phone rings. Eager to see Brittany again soon, she quickly picks up the phone.

"Hey Britt-Britt," Santana says trying out the nickname.

"Britt-Britt… I like it. Anyways, San, I'm sorry. We're not going for dinner anymore. Brett tripped while trying to do a backflip and we think he broke his toe. Sam is driving us to the hospital now. We don't know how long the wait is going to be, and Sam and I are going to stay there until Brett is ready to go home. Rain check on the dinner?"

Disappointed but trying not to show it, Santana speaks with as much understanding as she can, "Oh yeah, for sure. I hope Brett is okay."

"Thanks! I know your audition is tomorrow so I'm wishing you good luck now – oh wait, hold on –" Santana hears some mumbling in the background then Brittany's voice becomes clear again. "Sam says hi."

 _Ugh_. Santana has no reason to hate Sam; he was a nice guy, but the fact that she knew he liked Brittany made her dislike him just a little. "Thanks, Britt. I should sleep early tonight anyways," deliberately ignoring the 'Sam' part of the conversation.

Knowingly, Santana hears Brittany say quietly, probably covering the mouth piece, "Santana says hi back."

"Did not."

"Be nice."

Santana huffs and says goodnight to Brittany, telling her she'll update her on the audition once it's over.

* * *

The next day, Santana gets to the audition hall half an hour before her slot. She's holding her resume and headshot in her hands as she signs in.

"Santana?"

Santana turns around and there's a blonde standing behind her, "Quinn!"

Quinn gives Santana a quick hug. "I didn't you were into doing musicals? Brittany told me you were an actress but she didn't tell me you can sing too."

Santana is shocked by the fact the Brittany has told Quinn so much about her; wondering what else she told her. "I sang in high school and my agent told me this would be a good opportunity for me so she told me to give it a go. I don't even know what I'm trying out for."

"Oh, me neither. I was just told to come too, but I heard through some people here that it's a musical about a college that starts a riot over some sort of political stand against fraternities and sororities? I'm not sure if that's exactly what it is or how they would even make it a musical, but that's what I heard."

"Sound horrible," Santana says with a disgusted look on her face.

Quinn nods in agreement.

"Quinn!" A male voice comes from behind Santana and she turns around, "Santana?!"

"Oh, what the fuck?"

"Finn," Quinn greets him with a curious look on her face, "You two know each other?"

"Yeah, Santana and I went to high school together, she's good friends with my girlfriend."

Santana plasters another disgusted look on her face as she shakes her head, "No, not really."

"Come on, Santana. You let Rachel stay over at your apartment when my place was being repainted."

"Mhm, and how fun that was," Santana deadpans sarcastically.

"Lopez, Santana Lopez?"

"Seriously, if one more person I know is auditioning, I swear to God…" Santana turns around and sees an older, taller, dark man wearing glasses with salt and pepper hair. "I'm sorry, yes, that's me."

"Come on in, Santana."

Other than her first impression, Santana's audition went great. They loved her and her song choice. They told her the song was perfect for her voice and her facial expressions and emotions were spot on. They said that she would definitely hear back from them in a couple of days. She shakes hands with the two men in the room and heads out the door. Quinn and Finn were waiting outside for their turn.

"How did it go?" Quinn asks as soon as Santana steps out.

"Good, I think," Santana says as she shakes out the nerves from her wrist.

"Hudson, Finn Hudson."

Finn jumps up and down a few times and takes a few deep breaths as if he was just about to run onto the field to play some football, before turning towards the door and raising his hand up, "Later girls."

The girls – and by girls, it was only Quinn – wishes him good luck. Santana just waves.

"Nervous?" Santana asks as she turns to look at the shorter blonde standing next to her.

Quinn shakes her head, "Not really. This isn't what I usually do. I'm still going to school and trying to get my law degree. I'm just working at The Tank and going to auditions to make extra money to pay for it. If I don' get it, I don't get it. No big deal."

"That must keep you so busy," Santana can't imagine studying full time and working two jobs.

"Yes, but I like to keep busy. I do a lot of my studying while working at The Tank anyways. When classes are in session and everyone is signed in, I'm usually doing school work." Santana nods in understanding when Quinn speaks again, "So, what's going on between you and Brittany?"

Santana flashes a look towards Quinn, "Wha – what do you mean? We're friends."

"Oh please, do you think Brittany comps just everybody's class fees? If I didn't work there, I'd probably have to pay for her classes. I see the way you look at her. You like her don't you?"

Santana opens her mouth, then closes it and folds her arms across her chest, "Why? What has she told you?"

Quinn just chuckles, "She doesn't have to tell me anything. There are a lot of good looking people coming in and out of the studio all the time, and the way Brittany looks at you is completely different."

"But you said –"

"Yeah, I asked her what she knew about you because I saw the look in her eyes the first time you came to her self-defence class. I knew that she either knew you or recognized you from asomewhere. So she told me you were an actress with a sprained ankle."

"She didn't tell you how we met?"

"Nope, she just told me she bumped into you on the street on day and recognized your face. Why? Was there more?"

"I – well – she," Santana stutters, "She kinda saved my life."

"What? How?" Quinn asks in shock.

"I was being mugged and Brittany just happened to be there. She beat his ass and he ran away – well, actually, he crawled away."

"Geez! That's quite the story. Leave it to Brittany to be the most modest heroine you will ever meet."

"Yeah…" Santana drifts off as she thinks back to that day. How far they have come.

"And you like her now," Quinn smirks. Santana snaps out of her thoughts and looks at Quinn with a blush and shrugs, "Knew it. Don't worry, I'm pretty sure she likes you too. But I'd be careful of that other girl, Cassie, is it?" Santana nods, "She seems feisty and ballsy. Trust me, that girl only comes to the studio if Brittany is teaching and is constantly trying to get her hands on her, but at the same time, I don't think Brittany has ever looked at her the way she looks at you. So in my opinion, you're safe."

"Just not safe from her fists," Santana mumbles. She takes in a breath and decides this is the best time as any to ask Quinn what she wants to know about Brittany. "What do you know about Cody?"

Quinn looks around and shuffles her feet before looking back at Santana, "I don't know a lot. All I know is that Britt met him on set when she was shooting in L.A. and they dated for a couple years. She would go there months at a time to film, but would come home to visit her family and work at The Tank. He came here only a handful of times though; I only met him once when she was showing him around town and came through the studio. He bought her a cat so Lord Tubbington would have a girlfriend and so she could cuddle with it when she missed him. The cat was like his substitute until she went to L.A. again. When they broke up, he got upset and took the cat back telling her that if he can't have her, then Lord T can't have a girlfriend either, she was devastated. Apparently, he realized he still loved her and tried to ask for her back. She went back to L.A. to patch things up again, but ended up coming home after a couple of weeks and she told me they were finished for good because they couldn't agree on where to live. He kept the cat and she goes to visit her when she's in L.A. to film."

This was a lot to take in for Santana. She knew asking Quinn the question would start up a story that she might not have wanted to hear, but she had to. She felt jealousy run though her veins before taking in a deep breath. Before Santana is able to ask another question, someone called out for Quinn.

"Fabray, Quinn Fabray," the same tall, dark man called out.

Quinn turns around and raises her hand, "Wish me luck," She says as she turns to face Santana.

"Good luck," Santana says with a nod. Quinn takes a deep breath and walks through the doors into the other room.

Santana is just about to leave when large hands are placed on her shoulder and she spins around quickly. "Oh, it's you," Santana says with some disappointment.

"Glad to see you're still singing," Finn says as he takes a seat.

"Hmm… not really. Mercedes actually told me to give it a try and since I don't have a job at the moment, here I am."

"Ooh, you're still talking to Mercedes? That's great, how is she doing?" Finn asks with too much enthusiasm for Santana's liking.

"She's my agent. Why are you still here, Man boobs?"

"I'm waiting for Quinn. I drove her here."

"Ooh la la, going for the blonde now eh there, Too Tall?"

Finn shakes his head at both the nickname and the accusation, "No, Santana. I'm still with Rachel."

"That's too bad," Santana chimes in.

"Quinn's great. She's sexy and smart and nice…"

"Soooo… why don't you dump the troll and roll with the hottie?"

"She's not Rachel. Quinn and I are just co-workers; friends, but believe me when I tell you that Rachel hates it when I'm working with her. It's like she doesn't trust me or something."

"Have you ever…"

"Oh, God no. I would never cheat on Rachel, I love her," Finn says a bit too loudly as he shakes his head and pushes his palms out in front of himself.

"Well, that's good for you then. Good luck with that one. Anyway, I'm outta here. I can't stand to be in this place any longer. There's this nervous energy swirling around that is making me anxious. Tell Quinn I say bye."

"Alright Santana, hope to see you soon. Hopefully we all make it into the cast."

"Mmm…" Santana nods with her eyes wide, "Yeah… Well, see ya!"

Santana doesn't know why she hates Finn, other than the fact he didn't let her in Brittany's class that one time but it's not even entirely his fault. He's just following protocol. He's a nice guy and all, and he tries to be helpful. Sometimes, overly helpful and supportive that it becomes exhausting. So maybe that's it. She just finds him annoying and she can't stand annoying people.

Santana sits in her car and sends out a quick text.

 ** _To Britt: Just left the audition. I think I did well. They loved the song choice, thx to u ;)_**

It takes not more than a minute before Santana's phone buzzes.

 ** _From Britt: Yay! :) so happy to hear that San. When should we go celebrate?_**

 ** _To Britt: Not just yet. I still have to wait for a call back. R u free tmrw for dinner?_**

 ** _From Britt: I'm spending all day packing tomorrow. I haf to run all my errands today and go over my vids of the choreo. :(_**

A wave a disappointment flows through Santana. She wonders how she'll manage a month without Brittany if she can't seem to manage a weekend without her.

 ** _To Britt: What time is ur flight on Monday?_**

 ** _From Britt: 10am._**

 ** _To Britt: Do u need a ride?_**

 ** _From Britt: :) it would be cheaper than a taxi. I'll buy u breakfast_**

 ** _To Britt: Deal. Pick u up at 7._**

 ** _From Britt: Can't wait :) :) :)_**

With a smile, Santana starts her car and drives home. Singing along the way.

* * *

The next day, Santana gets a call around noon telling her they would love to see her again during the week and that they have a specific role they would like her to audition for. The character's name is Clarissa and she's the misunderstood bitch of the Omega Beta Psi sorority that is accused of setting a fire in one of the halls that injured 4 students and a teacher. She's more than excited to play that part and she feels like maybe she can relate to Clarissa.

She spends the rest of the day buying groceries, paying bills, and doing some vocal training. She also receives a call from Rachel telling her that Finn had told her he saw her at the audition and that they should practice together like the old days. Santana declines that offer. Then Rachel proposes an outing if they all get a spot in the show. Santana begins declining that proposal as well until Rachel tells her that Quinn and Mercedes will be there too. Santana gives in and tells her that she'll think about it and they leave it at that.

Later that evening, Santana's phone rings. It's Brittany. She smiles before she even puts the phone to her ear. The girls talk for just over an hour before Brittany has to get back to packing. They say their goodnights and Santana sits in bed and daydreams about what life would be like after Brittany comes back. She daydreams until she falls asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Santana wakes up frantically. She had forgotten to set her alarm and has no idea where her phone is. She finally finds it under her pillow and checks the time. It's only 5am. She rests her head in her hands and takes a few breaths to calm her heart. She thought she had missed her chance to drive Brittany to the airport and missed her chance to say goodbye. She's too freaked out to go back to sleep, so she just gets up and makes herself a coffee.

 **To Britt: You up?**

 **From Britt: Just got out of the shower. You're up early. Good morning btw :)**

 **To Britt: I had a little freak out this morning so I decided to get up. Good morning =)**

 **From Britt: A freak out? What happened? :(**

 **To Britt: Nothing big. Just thought i woke up late.**

 **From Britt: haha! That would suck for me. If ure ready, u can come over and look over my luggage. Make sure I didn't miss ne thing.**

 **To Britt: B there in 20**

 **From Britt: 20…**

 **To Britt: … minutes.**

 **From Britt: okee :)**

Santana gets dressed, grabs her purse, keys, and cellphone and heads out the door.

When she arrives at Brittany's house she knocks on the door. She hears footsteps running down the wooden stairs and then a thump on the other side of the door then it opens.

"Morning, Britt-Britt," Santana says as she steps into the house.

"San, you still have my key."

"Oh," Santana said out loud and looked at the keys in her hand. She starts to take it off the key ring.

"No, no," Brittany stops her. Santana looks up at her midway through pulling the key off. "Keep it. I just mentioned the key because you could have used it instead of knocking."

"Oooh…" Santana drags out this time and slowly winds the key back onto the ring without taking her eyes off Brittany. Then gives her a big smile once the key is back on securely.

Brittany leans in quickly and pecks Santana on the lips before she even has a chance to react, which make Santana blush even more.

"You're so cute," Brittany says as she turns around and picks up a large suitcase, a smaller carryon, and a backpack.

Santana is naming out things like money, passport, ID, training gear, shoes, plane ticket, socks, etc. Brittany says _check_ to those items and finally zips up her backpack. "Ready Freddy." Brittany says out and looks at Santana .

Santana arches a brow, "I'm not Freddy."

Brittany pouts and looks at her feet, then looks back up at Santana with a smile, "Ready Santeddy. San-teddy! Get it? You're my teddy!"

Brittany hops onto her toes and takes a couple of quick steps towards Santana and wraps her arms around her, hugging her tightly. Santana automatically hugs back and breaths in deeply, inhaling all that is Brittany.

Brittany whips out her phone with one hand and holds Santana's waist with the other. She holds the phone up for a selfie. Santana has her head on Brittany's cheek and Brittany is leaning into her. Both girls smiling their happiest smile. "You better send that to me," Santana says as she grabs the large luggage and rolls it out to the car with Brittany following her with her carry-on and her bags.

They eat at a little café a few miles away from the airport. They talk about Santana's audition and about the plot of the musical, then about how horrible it sounds. She also tells Brittany about Finn and Quinn showing up at the auditions as well. Apparently, Quinn sings all the time when she cleans up The Shark Tank and Brittany has always thought she had a great voice but had no idea she would audition for a musical. She did, however, know that Quinn was trying to be a lawyer and used the free time at the studio to study. Their boss Sue didn't mind. In fact, she insisted that her employees have both strong brains and muscles. They made fun of how cheesy the musical would probably be, but Santana would be paid well so she had no complaints.

Brittany told her that Brett did, in fact, fracture his toe and would be out for a few weeks. Then she mentioned that Cody had already contacted her about staying with him when she was back, which she decided was a bad idea and that the film studio was already going to put her up in a hotel. Santana was incredibly relieved to hear that, but was still nervous about the ex's reuniting.

After an hour at the café, Santana drove to the airport and dropped Brittany off at domestic departures. Taking the luggage out of her trunk, Santana reminds Brittany about the 3 hour time difference between Ohio and California – which Brittany completely forgot – and then they hug and say their goodbyes.

"Be safe," Santana says when the hug breaks.

"I will," Brittany says as she slides her hands down Santana's shoulder, along her arm, and then stopping at her hands.

"Promise?"

"Promise," Brittany links Santana's pinky in hers.

"Call me when you land… call me when you're settled… call me – call me whenever you want," Santana says with a blush.

Brittany leans in a kisses Santana's cheek, "I will."

The girls walk towards the sliding doors with their pinky's still linked together. Santana rolling the large suitcase behind her.

"YOU CAN'T PARK HERE!" An attendant shouts over to Santana while walking over with his hand raised.

"I KNOW! I'M JUST WALKING HER TO THE DOOR. IS THERE A PROBLEM WITH THAT? Do YOU have a problem with that?" Santana turns around completely, about to rage forward at the man, but Brittany tightens her hold on Santana's pinky and pulls her back.

"San, it's okay. I think you just made him piss his pants, he's so scared."

Santana sends a nasty glare his way before turning back towards Brittany and smiling lightly. Santana passes Brittany her luggage and they unlink their pinkies. "Be safe and take care of yourself," Santana says with a slight pout.

Brittany leans in and quickly kisses Santana's pout away. A small, swift, peck did the trick. "You too. Good luck on your call back and let me when you start shooting, and how it goes."

"Ma'am?" The attendant calls out again. This time from a further distance and a little quieter.

Santana turns her head again, seeing the huge line up of cars and sighs, "All right, already! I'm leaving! Shit these guys are rude. Interrupting peoples' goodbyes. Fuckers."

Brittany takes Santana's chin in her hand and turns her so their facing each other again, "And be nice." Santana rolls her eyes, and Brittany pecks her one last time. "Call you later."

"Bye Britt-Britt." The girls give each other a smile and Brittany turns to leave. Rolling both suitcases. One in each hand. Her purse strapped across her body and a backpack.

Santana takes a deep breath and exhales. She turns around with some attitude. Glaring and not taking her eyes off the attendant. She gets in the car, still glaring at him. His eyes shift, but he continues to look at her, afraid he'll get yelled at again. She points two fingers at her own eyes, then points them back at him, assuring him that he is now on her list. She drives away. Staring at him as much as she can until she has to focus on the road.

Once Santana gets home, she kicks off her shoes and grabs a bottle of water, downing half of it. She changes into her lounging clothes and plops onto her bed. She looks at her phone. Brittany has sent over the selfie they took earlier that morning with a heart underneath it.

To Britt: Thanks Britt-Britt. 3

From Britt: :)

To Britt: ;)

Santana is looking at the phone in her hand and the heart that Brittany sent her. She can't stop looking at the heart. It fills her own with so much happiness that she can't contain a smile. Just then her phone vibrates and it causes her to jump, snapping her away from the dumb little staring contest she was having with the screen. It was Mercedes.

"Sup Wheezy?" Santana can literally feel Mercedes rolling her eyes on the other line.

 _"I heard that you got a call-back. Congratulations!"_

"Thank you."

 _"When shall we catch up?"_

"Are you free tonight?"

 _"Absolutely! Breadstix at 6?"_

"Breadstix at 6."

* * *

Santana arrives at Breadstix 10 minutes after 6 and Mercedes is already there, waving her down.

Santana was running late because Brittany had kept her promise and called Santana as soon as she landed. They were on the phone for over an hour with Brittany telling Santana how cold the plane was and how she got hungry and all she had were crackers and the older lady next to her offered her a granola bar that kept her from starving to death on a cold plane. She also told Santana that she was heading out to the studio later in the afternoon to run through some choreography, then a bunch of them were thinking of heading to a bar for some drinks and to catch up. Santana was in the middle of telling her not to get too wasted and that she was going for dinner to catch up with a friend, when she realized she had to go for dinner to catch up with a friend, like now. She looked at the time and told Brittany she was already late and hung up quickly after saying their goodbyes.

The fact she got there when she did without a speeding ticket was already a huge accomplishment. The girls each order a glass of red wine and a plate of pesto linguine each. When the waitress leaves with their menus after taking their orders, that's when the interrogation begins.

"Tell me what's going on, Woman!" Mercedes starts.

"Well, the audition went great. They want me to try out for the part of this misunderstood…"

"Stop," Mercedes interrupted. "I don't want to know about _this_ show, I want to know about the last one, Hammer's Time. What happened? And please tell me what's going on with the mystery girl."

Santana rolls her eyes and sits up a bit, "I guess I can tell you one thing about the girl." Mercedes' eyes widen and she leans forward against the table. "She was in the movie too. I'm not going to tell you what she does or why she was there, but she was there."

Mercedes gasps and holds a hand to her chest, "You. Go. Girl!"

The waitress comes by with their wines. They each take a sip and Santana continues. "But working with Noah Puckerman was horrible. He's a sleazy, dirty creep that gets away with way too much. He goes way out of bounds in the inappropriate category. Promise me you'll never make me work with him again. Asshole needs to go to jail or something."

Mercedes sits back in her booth, "I can't promise you, considering I don't usually know who's in the show, but I'll do my best. But please, tell me more about Mystery Girl."

Santana smiles, "We started hanging out a little bit here and there if we worked on the same day." The waitress comes by with their pastas and the girls thank her. "We've became very good friends, best friends even."

"Hold the phone," Mercedes puts her index finger up, "Miss Lopez has a best friend? That's astounding."

"Shut up. Do you want me to continue or not?" Santana says as she takes a sip of her wine and putting her fork down; sitting back against the chair.

"I'm sorry, continue."

Santana nods and sits back up, picking up her fork again and twirling the pasta around it. "I feel really comfortable with her, and although nothing is official yet, I'm feeling really good about it. We're going to talk about it when she gets back."

"Where is she?"

"She's in L.A. filming something. She's going to be there for –"

"Wait," Mercedes interrupts.

"You really need to stop interrupting me. You're the one that wanted this conversation."

"Sorry but, is this girl's name Brittany?"

Santana stops slurping on her linguini and looks up at the other girl with pasta halfway in her mouth. She sucks the last little bit up quickly and wipes her mouth, "How?" is all Santana says with a perplexed look on her face. Mercedes smiles smugly and goes back to her pasta, not saying anything. "You better tell me, Jones, or this is the last you'll hear about this… of anything, I'll stab you in the ear with this fork," She says, pointing her fork towards her friend.

"Okay, okay," Mercedes laughs, "Kurt told me he needed a place to crash and told me him and his boy-toy, Blaine, were staying at your place and that you were staying at your friend's place. First, I thought to myself, 'Santana has friends?'" Santana gives her a sharp look. Mercedes just waves her off. "So I asked about this friend of yours and all he knew was that Blaine knew her, she was a Martial Artist and instructor, and she flies back and forth from L.A. to work in stunts. So, when you told me she's in L.A. I kind of put the two together."

"Well, there you have it," Santana nods, "That's my mystery girl… mystery solved."

"I still need to meet her," Mercedes chimes in.

"Maybe one day, Wheezy. Maybe one day," Santana winks at her and takes another sip of her wine.

The girls chit-chat for another hour or two about Mercedes job and how she started singing at open mic night down at the local jazz bar just for fun. How she's kind of seeing this saxophone player there and how Santana should join her someday. To which, Santana declines.

* * *

Later that evening, Santana washes up and hops into bed holding her phone; trying to decide if she should call Brittany or not. It's 12am in Ohio, meaning it's 9pm in California. Feeling like she needed to hear Brittany's voice before she sleeps and eager to catch up on what she's been up to the whole day, Santana dials her number.

It rings twice before someone picks up. Santana's heart is jumping happily, ready to hear the voice on the other line.

"Hello?" The voice isn't Brittany's. Santana scrunches up her face and takes the phone away from her ear for a moment to make sure she dialed the right number. Yup, it's Brittany's number. "Hello?" The voice says again, it's way too low. It's a man's voice.

"H – hi, umm… Is Brittany there?" Santana speaks out hesitantly.

"Umm… yup," There's a slight pause, "but she's busy right now, she just hopped into the shower. Who may I ask is calling?"

"Uhh… Santana. My name is Santana. Who is this?" She asks curiously. It better not be who she thinks it is.

"Cody."

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Constructive Criticism? Please be kind.


	17. Chapter 17

AN: Hi all, sorry it has been taking me so long. It may take just as long for the next chapter. But the next chapter will be the last one for a couple weeks while I'm in surgery recovery. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their comments and reviews! I love them so much. You have no idea.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

9:20pm – Los Angeles California (12:20am – Lima, Ohio)

Brittany steps out of the change room of the film studio. She's wearing jeans, a loose t-shirt, brown pleather jacket, and boots. Her hair is still half wet.

"Cody! What are you still doing here? I thought we were meeting at the bar."

"I was hoping to drive you there." Brittany nods and gathers up her bag when Cody speaks up again, "Who's Santana?"

"What?"

"Who's Santana?" Cody says as he looks up from his lap to Brittany. He's sitting on a solid wood bench, waiting for her to finish her shower. He's wearing loose jeans and a flannel shirt; rolled up at the sleeves with nothing underneath.

"She my –" Brittany thinks about it and damn it, why didn't she make anything official with Santana? She says the next truest thing, "…she's my best friend. Why?" She takes a couple steps closer to him.

"Do you always have a heart next to your best friend's contact?" He asks, his face solemn.

Brittany notices her phone sitting next to him and rushes forward to pick it up. "How do you – were you looking through my phone? No wait, why do you HAVE my phone?"

"You left it on top of the speaker by the mats and I picked it up so you wouldn't forget it. Are you sure you're just best friends?"

"Yes, well, no. I mean – we are best friends but… I don't know, why does it matter?" Brittany says as she unlocks her phone noticing Santana had called her recently. She checks the time. 20 minutes ago. _What the fuck?_ She looks at the call log and notices that the call was accepted. Accepted for 46 seconds. Her heart starts pounding and her blood begins to boil. "Did she call?" Cody doesn't answer; he continues to look at the floor. "Did she call, Cody?" She says impatiently. He nods. "You answered my phone?" Brittany yells out as she tightens the grip on the phone in her hand.

"We used to always answer each other's phone. It's not a big deal," Cody says, this time sounding more upset.

"We used to Cody. Keywords: used to. That was almost two years ago!" Brittany quickly calls Santana back and holds the phone up to her ear.

Cody stands up with his hands on his hips, "What are you doing?"

Brittany gives out the most hateful glare she has ever given anyone. The phone rings four times then voicemail. _Fuck._ She tries again, a bit of panic rises in her chest. The phone rings four times; voicemail. _Come on, Santana. Answer._ She tries one more time, but this time it goes straight to voicemail. She shut off her phone. "Fuck!" Brittany says aloud this time. "What did you say to her, Cody?" Brittany grips her phone hard, seriously considering chucking it towards Cody's head.

"Nothing. I just said you were in the shower!" He replies.

"Nothing else?"

"Nothing else." Cody shakes his head.

She wants to believe him, but she doesn't. Just then, her phone vibrates in her hand. Her heart skips a beat when she looks down at the caller ID, then drops to her stomach when she notices it's not Santana. It's one of the other members of the stunt team.

"Hello?" Brittany answers monotony.

"Wow, Britt. You don't sound good. Are you and Cody coming? We're waiting for you guys before we start getting our drink on. Although, Stevens and McFarrow has started without you."

"You guys go ahead. I'm not feeling too well," She glares up at Cody and he shrugs.

"What about Cody?"

"I have no idea."

"Can you at least drop by for a few minutes? Everyone is dying to see you again, Britt. Everyone has missed you. We haven't seen you in way too long."

Brittany internally groans. It's true. She spent most of her stunting years with these people. They were her L.A. family. She couldn't ditch them, especially since this outing was supposed to be for her. She'd just feel too guilty. She takes in a deep breath, "Okay. I'll drop by. But I can't stay. I want to be better by the time we start dress rehearsal on Wednesday," She lies.

"Great! Tell Cody to get his ass down here as soon as he can. See you later, Britt."

"See ya."

Cody takes his keys out of his pocket, "Shall we?"

Brittany sighs and follows him out to his truck. They sit in the car in silence. Maybe a shot of tequila won't hurt right now, Brittany thought. She sends out a text, hoping Santana will receive it when she wakes up.

 _To Santana 3: San, please pick up your phone :( I want to talk to you. I don't know what Cody said to you but there's nothing going on between us. I promise._

She puts her phone back into her purse.

When they arrive at the bar, everyone greets her with open arms, hugs, and cheek kisses. Brittany is everyone's kick ass ray of sunshine. She does her job professionally and seriously, but she's also the sweetest, most sincere person to ever throw a person down a flight of stairs. She tries her best to avoid Cody that night. She finds it hard to focus on the group when her mind is on Santana. She doesn't notice that all her friends are trying to buy her shots and by the time she looks at her phone again, its 1am. She's tipsy and she's sweating from dancing on the mini dance floor they had opened at 11pm.

She's sitting on a stool next to her friend Shannon – a much bigger, more muscular girl that usually doubles for men. Brittany downs half the bottle of water and Shannon is laughing at something stupid happening from across the bar.

"I'm so glad you're back." Brittany turns quickly and Cody's chin is resting on her shoulder.

"Go away," Brittany says as she takes another sip and jerks her shoulder forwards so Cody's head falls.

"I wanna talk," he says standing straight up.

"Not now," is all Brittany says.

Shannon looks over towards them. "Cody, give her some time. She just got in today."

"Fine," Cody huffs. "Are you ready to go back to the hotel? I'll give you a ride."

Brittany flips her phone a few times. No calls. No messages. She understands it's 4am in Ohio, but it doesn't stop her brain from overthinking. "Fine, let's go." Even though she's mad at Cody, she does trust him enough to get her home safely. She picks up her purse and phone and gets in a round of goodbyes before she gets into Cody's truck. The ride back was silent other than the radio playing some sort of Rock music.

They reach the hotel and Cody is about to get out of the truck when Brittany stops him. He leans in for a hug and she leans away, opening the door and hopping out. Once she gets into her room, she tosses her purse and phone on the desk and flops onto the bed face first. She kicks off her shoes and scoots to the center of the bed. Not even changing her clothes, she falls asleep trying her hardest to feel hopeful about the next day.

* * *

12:00am – Lima, Ohio (9:00pm Los Angeles, California)

"Who is this?" Santana asks curiously.

"Cody."

"Cody..." Santana mumbles quietly, "You're…"

"Brittany's boyfriend," The male voice says confidently into the phone.

Santana is shocked to her core. Her stomach is flipping and she feels like she wants to throw up. "Her boyfriend? But she…"

"Well, we were on and off, but… I mean, I think I can say we're going to work something out."

"And she's…"

"She's in the shower. Did you want to leave a message or something?"

"I – no. No, it's okay," Santana's trying her hardest not to sound hurt or disappointed. She doesn't want to hear anymore from him and hangs up.

 _What the fuck? What the actual fuck?!_ Santana clutches her phone in her hand tightly. Her heart is beating so fast, it hurts. Her heart literally hurts. Her mind is racing back and forth; fighting with itself. She digs her face into her pillow, trying to fight the tears.

 _Maybe he's mistaken. Maybe he's lying, but what if he isn't? What if Brittany gave him some sort of idea that there was a chance? Then why would she send me a heart with our picture? She's going to be there for a month. What are the chances of them getting together, doing stuff?_ Santana starts to panic when she thinks of them 'doing stuff.' _She was showering. Where was she showering? His Home? Why? Why was she there? The Cat. Maybe they already did 'stuff'. Oh, I'm going to be sick._

Santana runs to the washroom and places both hands on each side of the sink. She's leaning heavy on her arms. She turns on the sink and watches the water run. _Nothing was official. Why didn't I make things official?_ She looks at herself in the mirror and sees how ridiculously sad she look. She splashes some water on her face before drying it with a towel and heading back to her bed. _Should I text her? Should I call her? No. Maybe she's moved on. She probably has. They have a fucking cat together._

Her phone vibrates. She quickly picks it up. It's Brittany.

 _What if she's calling to end things? I'm not ready for that._

Santana just stares at the phone. Staring at the name on her phone until it stops vibrating and she slowly sets it back down. Right away, it vibrates again. This time Santana doesn't even pick it up. She needs to clear her mind first. Prepare herself for the worst. Expect nothing. They had a couple weeks of fun together. They really only got close last week, and what's a week to a couple years she had with Cody? If she doesn't answer the phone, Brittany can't end things with her, right? The phone stops. Not wanting to think about it or freak out anymore, she turns off her phone and tries to sleep it off. Maybe this was all a bad nightmare and tomorrow morning, everything will be okay. This was going to be a long month.

* * *

Santana wakes up feeling like a mess. Her head hurts and her eyes sting. She reaches to check the time on her phone but she remembers she had turned it off. She holds down the power button and closes her eyes again waiting for it to restart. A few moments later, she lifts the phone to her face and sees the time. 12pm. She slept through half the day, but that's fine. It's half a day closer to this month being over.

She notices 3 new voicemails and 6 new text messages are waiting for her.

She checks her texts first.

 _From Britt: San, please pick up your phone :( I want to talk to you. I don't know what Cody said to you but there's nothing going on between us. I promise._

 _From Britt: Good morning beautiful. I hope u had a good sleep. I kept on tossing and turning. Pls call me when u can._

 _From Britt: I'm not sure if ure awake yet, it's 10am there in Lima. Maybe ure still sleeping. Txt me back._

 _From Britt: Cody told me he talked to u on the phone. I don't know what he told u. But whatever it was please talk to me about it first so I can explain. Nothing is happening or going to happen with me and Cody._

 _From Britt: It's almost noon. I have to go to the studio. :( Pls call or txt me back. Please Santana!_

 _From Britt: I miss you._

Santana runs her fingers half way through her hair and pulls her hand into fists, bunching her hair. Then she checks her voicemail.

It's Brittany and she sounds super tired, _"Morning San. It's Brittany. Just wanted to say hey and leave a voicemail in case you didn't get my texts. Call me back."_

Santana moves onto the next message, " _Hey. It's me again. I hope everything is okay over there. I'm at the studio now and we are going to start rehearsing soon. I'll keep checking my phone though. Text me please. I need to hear from you."_ Santana's heart is breaking from hearing the exhaustion in Brittany's voice. She takes in a deep breath to keep from breaking down herself. Maybe Brittany is telling the truth.

Next message, _"Good morning, Santana. This is James Lock from Empire Studios. We would like to see you tomorrow, Wednesday, for your audition for Clarissa at 11am. Please call us back to confirm. Our number is 555-9001. Hope to hear from you soon."_

The first thing Santana does is shoot out a quick message to Brittany to try to clear the air.

To Britt: Hey Britt. I'm sorry. I freaked out last night when ur ex answered ur phone. The way he made things sounded like the two of u were getting back together and I went a little nuts. I'm sorry. Hope u have a great day at the studio. Maybe we can chat tonight?

Santana quickly calls James back and confirms the audition. She needs to have another song prepared. Something with fire and wrath and confidence. As soon she hangs up, she already has a text waiting for her.

 _From Britt: I'm sorry he made you freak out. I don't even know why the fuck he answered my phone. NE ways, we can totally talk tonight. I'll call u at 4:30pm my time :)_

* * *

Santana wanders out to the kitchen and is about to make herself some lunch with there's a knock on the door. She goes over to answer it and groans.

"Hi Santana, I talked to Mercedes today and she told me that you had a call back for that new movie musical Finn auditioned for. That's great!" Rachel pushes the door open slightly wider and walks in causally followed by Kurt. "I assumed you would need a song for your call back so Kurt and I came over to help you find the perfect one. I was thinking something from a Broadway musical, not so much from a movie musical. Kurt was thinking Moulin Rouge, but I don't know, I don't see you singing a Moulin Rouge song. Then again, you need to tell us what the directors are looking for so we can help you. I think we can find something suitable for your vocal range and personality…" Rachel continues to ramble while Santana has already made her way to the kitchen tuning her out. She comes out of the kitchen with a few carrot and celery sticks and some cherry tomatoes and looks at Rachel and Kurt standing behind the couch. She takes a bite out of the carrot and just stares blankly at the two New Yorkers. "Santana, are you listening to me?"

Kurt chuckles, knowing Santana's typical reaction to Rachel's constant babbling. Santana just shakes her head, "Stopped listening once you walked in." She takes another bite out of her carrot stick and walks towards her friends. "Why are you guys here? Why aren't you in New York?"

Rachel is about to lecture Santana about listening to her when she's trying to help her but Kurt interrupts, "Rachel came back to help Finn with his call back and to visit her Dads. I decided to join her since Blaine and I are celebrating our anniversary next week."

Santana nods and plops down on her couch, followed by Kurt then Rachel. "Why are you guys _still_ here?" Santana asks as she throws a cherry tomato into her mouth.

Rachel sighs, "I want to help you get into the movie so you and Finn can work together, it would be so fun!"

Santana shrugs, "Thanks, but I don't really need your help. I didn't need your help getting the audition. I didn't need your help getting the call back, and I certainly don't want your help in getting me the part because I KNOW that you will take all the credit and won't shut up about it until you help some other hopeless actor or singer make it big. So, no thanks."

"I told you," Kurt mumbles as he crosses his arms and rolls his eyes at Rachel. "Anyway, Satan, how's Brittany?"

"Who's Brittany?" Rachel asks.

"Santana's special friend," Kurt begins to explain.

"Shut up," Santana looks at Kurt with wide eyes and slaps him on the thigh.

"Please, Santana," Kurt rolls his eyes. "There has to be something going on between you two or you would have been constantly in and out of your apartment when Blaine and I were staying there. Besides, Blaine told me how you reacted when Brittany asked you to stay over the day I called. You were basically putty in her hands. If anyone else would have begun to ask you to sleep at their home you would have shut them down so quickly, they wouldn't even be able to finish their question."

"I just didn't want to walk in on the two of you having gross monkey sex all over my apartment. No amount of soap could wash that vision out of my eyes."

At this point, Rachel is so invested in their conversation that she hasn't even blinked. Kurt just shakes his head. "Who's Brittany?" Rachel finally blurts out again.

Santana sighs, giving up on all the lies. "She's just a friend right now. Nothing more."

"Are you sure?" Kurt asks with a raised brow.

"Yes, I'm sure. Besides, she's in L.A. right now working and she'll be there for a month. So nothing is happening or going to happen until she gets back and we can finally talk about us."

"Oooh! This is so exciting! Someone finally obtaining a grasp on the great womanizing, Santana Lopez!" Rachel claps.

Santana sends a malicious glare Rachel's way and she stops the clapping immediately.

Santana lets out a huge sigh and looks into the distance. She could really use a friend right now but doesn't know how to act friendly towards Rachel and Kurt. They have both been good to her ever since high school, but she has always been a bitch to them. How is she supposed to be nice to them now? Tapping her fingers on the arm rest of her couch, she decides to just go for it, "She has to work with her ex-boyfriend." Both Kurt and Rachel turn their heads. "And I have a feeling that he's going to want to start things up again with her."

"What does he do?" Rachel asks.

"He's in stunts too."

"So they'll be sweating and feeling exhausted on set together every day," Rachel mumbles to herself, but not quietly enough and both Santana and Kurt send a glare her way.

"What's his name?" Kurt asks while picking up his phone.

"Cody… Cody something," Santana replies.

Kurt types some stuff into his phone and gasps, "Cody Tolentino?"

"I don't know, maybe? Why? What's on there?" Santana says trying to take a peek at Kurt's phone but he pulls it away and looks at his screen again.

"Oh, hot damn." Kurt has still yet to blink and Rachel leans over his shoulder to look.

"Oh, wow," Rachel says under her breath. She looks up at Santana then shoots her eyes back down to the screen. "L.A. stunt man, 26 years old, 6'3", born and raised in California. Was a Calvin Klein model for 3 years, aww… and he has a kitty."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Santana speaks out loudly and snatches the phone away from Kurt. She looks through the photos and his bio. A very impressive bio. "Fuck."

She can't seem to take her eyes off the screen. Even her lady lovin' way finds this man attractive. Of course he has to be Brittany's ex-boyfriend that is desperately trying to get her back. Of course! She tosses the phone back to Kurt and sighs.

"Well, thanks for coming over and ruining my mood guys. Please get out."

"But we haven't found you the perfect s-" Rachel begins.

Kurt taps on Rachel's leg as he gets up, "Let's go Rachel. I think we've done enough for Santana today."

"More than enough," Santana adds.

"We were just trying to help," Rachel chimes in.

Santana doesn't say anything. She opens the door for them and they step out. Kurt giving Santana an apologetic look and Santana shrugs. Kurt and Rachel turn to leave and Santana closes the door. Leaving her with her thoughts. She goes into her room and lies stomach down on her bed. She picks up her phone and opens the picture Brittany had sent her of the two of them the morning she left. Santana smiles to herself and pictures herself a month later lying next to Brittany, taking more selfies. However, she's conflicted. She also can't stop thinking about what Brittany is doing right now, how work is going, what Cody's plans are in getting Brittany back, and if Brittany would succumb to his pleads to take him back. She starts feeling drowsy and before she knows it, she has fallen asleep.

* * *

To take her mind off of everything, Santana decides to go out for a jog. She leaves her phone at home and takes her iPod and keys with her. She jogs her usual route, passing by The Shark Tank and looking in. She sees a class is in session and smiles to herself remembering the great times she has had in there as she continues jogging pass. 45 minutes later she's home and completely exhausted. She realizes she should probably start working out more if she's going to keep up with Brittany's classes when she gets back. She checks her phone and has one text message waiting for her, sent 10 minutes ago.

From Britt: Looking forward to chatting tonight. I just finished rehearsal. Going to grab lunch with the group then I'm going over to Cody's to catch up with the kitty. I'll call you when I'm done.

Taking in a deep breath and trying her best to organize her thoughts and not overthink the situation. _She's just going to see her cat. She's not getting back together with that tall, tanned, handsome, athletic, stuntman model._ She takes a quick shower and relaxes on her bed with a laptop trying to find a song for tomorrow's call-back. 5 minutes in, she falls asleep; completely exhausted from her run.

Santana wakes up an hour later and realizes she still hasn't found a song. She snaps herself awake and moves to the kitchen table with her laptop, desperately searching for a song that suits her and the criteria the director is looking for. Not long after her search, her phone rings. She looks at the caller ID and sees that it's Brittany. She looks at the time. It's only 5pm which makes it only 2pm in L.A.

"Hey Britt, you're early."

Santana hears sniffles coming in from the other side and her heart stops for a split second. She hears Brittany take in a deep breath, "San…" Brittany chokes out.

"Brittany? Are you okay? What's wrong?" Santana pushes her laptop over and rests her elbows on the table. Her right hand covering her mouth in shock and giving Brittany her full attention.

"Cody… he…" Brittany lets out a couple of coughs.

 _What the fuck did Cody do?!_ "Britt, babe. You need to breathe. Take a deep breath in for me, okay?" Santana hears the other girl take in a couple of deep breaths and slows down. "Okay, now. What happened?"

Brittany responds after a couple of sniffs, "I went to Cody's and – to surprise the kitty – and – he – he gave the cat away."

"Oh, Britt. I'm sorry. I know how much she meant to you. Why did he do it?"

"He said that – he said he gave her away the last time I was there and officially ended things. He – he lied to me whenever I asked about her. He said she was great and that she missed Lord Tubbington and – and I went to tell Lord Tubbington that. He made me lie to him!" Brittany starts crying again. Santana's heart breaks for her. She wishes she could wrap her arms around the blonde beauty and tell her everything will be okay and that she's there to help her get through everything. But she's not. They're in opposite sides of the country.

"That's horrible, Britt. Do you – do you want me to tell Lord Tubbington what happened?" That's something Santana never thought she would say.

"No…" Brittany says quietly. "I should be the one to tell him. He's going to be so sad. He'll probably start smoking again," she sighs.

"I can't believe he didn't think about you visiting her when you got to L.A., since that's what you always do, right?"

"Yeah, I don't know what he was thinking. Maybe he thinks I'm _that stupid_ that I would realize it or that I would believe his story that he had taken her to a kitty hotel for some pampering… again. He only came clean when I told him I wanted the name and location for this kitty hotel and that I wasn't going to talk to him until I got it. God, he must think I'm an idiot."

"Brittany, stop it. Stop saying that. You're obviously not since you're able to call him out on it. He's the stupid one for thinking he could get away with it."

"But I -"

"No, Britt. No buts, you're not." The line is silent for a while, then Santana breaks that silence, "is there anything I can do?"

"No… I just…" Brittany sighs.

"You just what, Britt?"

"Nothing…"

"No, tell me. What is it?"

"I just. I miss you, San. I wish you were here. I'm so sad right now. Like a sad little panda."

Santana feels her heart swell and sink at the same time. She feels the same way. She has missed Brittany since she dropped her off at the airport. "I wish I could be there too and I would get on the next flight out if I didn't have to go to the call back tomorrow."

"Oh my gosh, they finally gave you a date for your call back? I'm so happy for you!" Brittany's mood suddenly lifts. "When is it?"

"Tomorrow… and I still don't have a song selected yet. I'm supposed to sing something angry and full of hatred and I can't think of anything. I'm so not prepared."

Brittany is silent on the other end for a couple of seconds, then out of nowhere, "Be prepared!"

"I'm trying to, Britt, but I can't think of anything."

"Be prepared, San!"

"Britt, I'm trying! I'm asking you for help here, not asking you to tell me what I already know," Santana says frustrated; running her hand through her hair.

"Santana," Brittany says calmly but sternly.

"What?"

"Sing _Be Prepared_ from the Lion King and throw in your own twist."

Finally it hits Santana what Brittany was trying to say. _Man, this girl is a genius!_ "That's perfect! I should go look up the lyrics and do some practice. How did you think of that so quickly?"

"Well, I love The Lion King and I just saw it on T.V. last night. Besides, I think you would sound totally sultry and sexy when you sing it."

"Hmm, would I now?"

"Mhm…" Brittany hums out. Both girls take in a deep breath. "Well, you should probably get to practicing."

"I should, thank you, Britt. Um… Are you sure you're okay? Want me to send someone to L.A. to damage Cody's face?"

Brittany chuckles into the phone, "No, I'll be okay. I just – I was looking forward to seeing her… the kitty. But I'll be okay in a day or so."

"Alright, I'll call you tomorrow after the audition?"

"Please do."

"Thanks again."

"You're welcome."

The girls say their goodbyes and hang up the phone. Santana goes straight to rehearsing her song. Looking up lyrics and trying to get a feel for the song and adding in her own Santana-touch.

* * *

The next morning, Santana is ready pumped for the call-back. She's singing in the car. She's still a few minutes early and checks her phone. She sees 3 good luck texts from Rachel, Mercedes, and Brittany. Soon after she checks her messages she's asked to enter the audition room. She performs her song and everyone loves it. The twist she put in it made it her own, and it just added a hint of the original flavour. They thanked her and told her she would hear back from them as soon as the rest of the characters were casted. They pre-congratulated her and shook her hand.

The days passed and Santana continued to talk on the phone with Brittany every night. They talked about anything and everything that was going on in their lives. Santana told her how well the call back went, how she went for dinner with Finn and Rachel to celebrate his early casting, and how sore she was from jogging. Brittany told her how well rehearsals were going and how amazing the choreography was. They had just started filming and so far everything was going great, except working with Cody was a little bit harder. Brittany found it hard to look at him. Cody was constantly apologizing and even told her he tried to get their cat back but the new owners refused all his offers. Brittany was still pretty bummed out about that whole situation and Santana did her best to comfort her. Apparently, Brittany's sister, Christy, has been taking a lot of pictures of Lord Tubbington and showing her how happy he was. That seemed to have brightened up the blonde's mood.

* * *

A week has passed and Santana received a phone call from the directing agent congratulating her on the part of Clarissa in the new movie musical, _Omega Beta Psi-chorus._ They were to begin shooting at the end of the month, and a script will be sent to her a week before shooting. She quickly calls Mercedes and shares the news. After her conversation with Mercedes, she calls Brittany.

Brittany is on her break from her shot with Cody. He apparently offered to buy her a new cat, to which she thought was incredibly senseless considering she didn't live there and he would probably give it away again when he realized he had to take care of it since she would probably never visit it. He was constantly bringing her flowers and stuffed animals, begging for forgiveness and Brittany was getting annoyed. Santana, too, was getting annoyed. After getting off the phone with Brittany, Santana had a plan. It was probably the dumbest thing she had ever done, but at the same time, couldn't stop herself. She texted Brittany and asked for the location of the hotel she was staying at. She told her she was going away for a week to New York and wanted to send her a post card and possibly a souvenir. Brittany made sure that Santana would continue to call and text as much as she could before proceeding to send her the information.

With the information in hand, Santana booked a flight out to Los Angeles for the following afternoon. This is the craziest, most spontaneous thing Santana has ever done. She would never have done this for anyone else, but Brittany wasn't just anyone. Brittany was special and this was her chance to show Brittany just how special she was. Santana packed all night and went to bed at 4am. She was to fly out in 12 hours.

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Constructive criticism?


	18. Chapter 18

AN: Thank you guys for enjoying my writing. Whenever I have doubts, I read over your reviews and comments and it really pushes me to continue. This will be the last chapter I post for about 2 weeks... I'm hoping to get another one out sooner but just in case I can't, I'll say 2 weeks.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

First thing Santana does when she gets to the airport is take a selfie. She sends it to Brittany, telling her she's waiting for her flight to New York. Brittany responds after a couple minutes wishing Santana a safe flight and to call her when she lands in New York. Brittany sends a selfie back of herself at the studio. Her hair is in a ponytail, her cheeks are flushed pink, and she's winking. That wink though. It can kill a person. Santana is so excited she can't contain herself so she wanders around the airport. She reads a couple of magazines and browses through the book selection before her flight number gets called to board.

As soon as she's on the plane, she thinks of the way she might surprise Brittany. She's nibbling on a bag of peanuts when a sudden rush of fear runs through her. What if she sees something she doesn't want to? What if Brittany had plans there that day? What if Brittany doesn't have time for her there? She didn't even book a hotel room. Where was she supposed to stay?

Even though it seems like confidence flows through Santana's veins, she has self-esteem issues. Growing up, her Mom and Dad would tell her she was beautiful (even though her Abuela called her garbage face jokingly just for kicks, but it really didn't help her confidence growing up), they never showed her how proud they were of her. She would come home with A's on her report card and they would nod and pat her on the head. She would do art projects in elementary school but they would never be posted on the fridge or kept for more than a week before they were tossed out with the rest of the trash. Her Mother told her it cluttered the house. Kids would make fun of her curly hair and dark skin. When she told her parents, they told her not to worry about them and ignore them, but no matter how much she ignored them, they were constantly teasing her. In high school, she became a bitch to protect herself. After that horrible day she hooked up with that football player and started sleeping with other guys, she would constantly have one night stands to boost her confidence and her status. She had a few boyfriends, but because of her reputation, they cheated on her thinking she wouldn't care. She acted like she didn't care, when in fact it hurt her a lot. She would hide out and cry before putting on her bitch face and continuing on with her day. After she graduated and started dating women, she again would rarely have more than a one night stand or a few flings. When she did have girlfriends they wouldn't last. She would either cheat on them, or they would be in an open relationship. She was a huge player, or so it seems. She would always have this fear that whoever she fell for would leave, or eventually cheat on her; that she wasn't worthy of real love.

Brittany was different. No one has ever made Santana feel so warm and fuzzy, and it terrified her that she felt like they fit perfectly together. But what scared her even more was what if she was the only one that felt it? What if Brittany had completely different feelings? Santana was insecure and she hated it.

When the plane landed and Santana was in the airport terminal, she called Brittany to see where she was and she picked up after a few rings.

"Hey San! Are you in New York? How come it took you so long to get there?"

Santana hadn't thought about that. It definitely wouldn't have taken her this long to fly to New York. "Flight delay," was all she was able to say. "Where are you?" She asks quickly to change the subject.

"Just packing up and then probably going to head back to the hotel to rest. It's been a long day of rolling down a flight of stairs and my back is starting to get sore."

Santana winces just at the mental vision she gets of Brittany falling down some stairs, "Yeah, you should go back and get some rest." Santana grabs her luggage off the conveyor belt and starts rolling it towards the sliding doors. "I got something for you, I'm going to send out as soon as I can."

"But didn't you just get there? You got something already?"

"Uhh, yeah! Airport gift shop."

"You got something for me from the airport gift shop?" Santana can hear the curiosity and confusion in Brittany's voice.

"Yeah, I got a postcard and… something else. I – I thought it's totally cute – and – I don't know. It just seemed perfect for you."

Brittany chuckles from the other side, "Oooh! Is it you?"

Santana's eyes go wide and her mouth drops open. "I – uhh – I – I got you a postcard."

Brittany laughs louder this time, "I know you did, silly. You already said that. I was kidding. I would love anything you get me. I'm sure of it. I can't wait. Make sure you send it to room 501."

"You would love anything I get you, eh?" Santana smirks to herself.

"I would!"

Santana really hopes she would, _eventually_. "Good to know. Anyway, I have to go now. I'll see – call – text! I'll text you later. When I get to my hotel."

"Sure, San. Get there safely."

"Thanks, Britt."

At this point, Santana is already outside waiting for a taxi. 3 has passed her already, but she wouldn't have been able to tell the driver where to go without Brittany overhearing. She gets into the cab and gives him the address of Brittany's hotel. She sits back in the seat nervous, excited, and jittery. 45 minutes later, she arrives at the hotel. It's nothing fancy. It's a 3-star hotel. Clean, cozy, but older than most other hotels in the area. The staff were polite and professional, even though one of the bag boys tried to hit on her.

 _To Britt: I'm at the hotel. What are you doing?_

Santana grabs a cup of lemon water from a dispenser next to the lobby.

 _From Britt: Watching TV in bed and having dinner._

 _To Britt: I'm hungry. I want dinner too. What are you having?_

 _From Britt: Just a pastrami sandwich from a deli across the street._

Brittany then sends her a picture of herself taking a bite of the sandwich with caption ' _Yum! You should join me'_ written in the comment section under the photo.

Santana takes this as a cue and gets into the elevator and pushes the button for the 5th floor. Her heart is racing; she's so excited. She finds Brittany's room number and knocks four times. She hears shuffling and footsteps, then an unbolting of the door. Finally, the door opens.

Santana has a huge smile on her face. Brittany, on the other hand is in shock. Her hair is in a messy bun on top of her head, she's wearing a t-shirt and shorts, and holding a napkin in her hand. Her mouth is open and her eyes are wide. Staring at Santana's face. Brittany looks away for half a second and turns her attention back to the brunette standing in front of her as her mouth hangs wider.

"Are you going to let me in or are you so hungry you're just eating all the air flowing into your mouth?" Santana uses her index finger to push Brittany's chin up, closing her mouth. Brittany takes a step back and gives Santana space to walk in. Her room is clean with a few articles of clothing tossed about. Her suitcase is sitting on the floor next to the small couch in front of the window. Brittany still hasn't said a word as she lets the door close. "So, where's that sandwich you wanted me to join you in eating?"

Brittany points to the take out box on the bed. Inside is just over half a sandwich and half a pickle. Lying next to the box is a bag of plain chips and a bottle of water. Santana walks up to the bed, takes out the sandwich, and takes a bite.

"I – how did you – where did you – how… did you like, teleport from New York or something?"

"You asked me to join you, so here I am. Unless… unless you changed your mind and you want me to go?" Santana wipes her mouth with her fingers as she chews, grabs her luggage and walks towards the door.

"NO!" Brittany yells out so loud that even though Santana was expecting Brittany to stop her, jumped up a bit in surprise. Brittany grabs a hold of Santana's arm and pulls her back. Santana lets go of her suitcase and falls into Brittany's arms. They wrap each other up in a big hug. Santana's chin is resting on Brittany's shoulder and Brittany leans her cheek onto the top of the shorter girl's head. Brittany gives one more squeeze and pulls back. "But… New York."

"Mmm… I lied," Santana says as she bites her bottom lip. "Surprise!" She raises her hands up in the air and shakes her hands furiously.

"You know," Brittany says seriously, "We start lying to each other now, who knows what bigger lies we will tell each other in the future. Lies lead to dishonesty, and then we won't be able to trust each other anymore, and that leads to disappointment and anger, and nothing good can come from that."

Santana stands there with her mouth open as Brittany crosses her arms over her chest. Santana thinks for a moment. _Brittany has to be joking right? This was a great surprise! She's glad I'm here, right?_ Then she decides to speak, "What if… the only reason I lie is so I can surprise you and see that wonderful shocked look on your face?" Santana bravely says as she takes a step closer to Brittany. "You know, I came here because…" She takes her hand and tries to pry Brittany's arm away from her chest, "I missed you and I wanted to be able to do this…" Brittany is looking straight into Santana's eyes and her body relaxes. She lets Santana pull her arms down as they link their fingers together. Santana steps in, not taking her eyes off the sparking blue ones just above hers. Santana tilts her head upward and looks down at the thin pink lips, then back up to those beautiful eyes. Brittany swallows and takes in a deep breath before leaning forward. The girls' lips touch and Santana feels a surge of everything that is comfortable race through her veins. The warmth, the familiarity, the… perfection. When the kiss breaks, both girls still have their eyes closed. Feeling content in where they are and what just happened.

"I guess if it's a surprise like that, I can accept it," Brittany breathes out. They both open their eyes and a gentle smile glides over both their lips. "Do I still get the postcard?"

"I guess not," Santana says duplicating Brittany's look of disappointment. "But you get this wonderful package instead, and it was sealed with a kiss," Santana wraps her arms around Brittany's neck and puckers up; receiving another quick kiss.

"Santana?" Brittany says quietly as she wraps her arms around the shorter girl's waist and she gets a hum in response. "Santana, be my…"

Brittany is interrupted by a knock on the door. The girls turn the heads towards the door and look back at each other. Brittany shrugs.

"Are you expecting company?" Santana asks curiously with a slight feeling of concern.

Brittany shakes her head, "Nope. I was done for the day. My plans were to eat my sandwich, watch T.V., and talk to you on the phone."

The person knocks again.

Brittany lets go of Santana's waist and Santana unlatches herself from Brittany's neck. Santana sits on the bed watching what looks like _Restaurant Makeover_ on T.V. while Brittany answers the door.

"What are you doing here?" Santana hears Brittany's voice as soon as the door is pulled open.

"Can we talk? Please? I won't be able to rest until we get this sorted out."

Brittany looks back at Santana on the bed. Santana knows exactly who it is and scrunches her brows. She doesn't know whether she should stay quiet or tell him to back off. Just as soon Santana stands up off the bed to confront the man behind the door, Brittany screeches, "Cody, what are you do-" Brittany is cut off when the door bursts open; slamming against the wall.

"Let me talk to you!" Cody yells out angrily. He looks up and stills, "Who the hell are you?" directing his question towards the Latina.

"Who the hell am I? Who the hell do you think you are barging in here when Brittany obviously didn't want to let you in?"

Cody turns to Brittany and points a finger only a couple inches away from the blonde's face, "Brittany, you tell me who that is, now!" Almost at lighting speed, Santana is right next to Brittany. She grabs a hold of his finger and pulls it downward quickly. "Ow, fu-"

"Don't you fuckin' point your finger at her again, Asshole. Even if you had a chance, you would have blown it with that attitude of yours. Have some fucking respect!" Santana forcefully lets go of Cody's finger.

Cody grabs a hold of Brittany's wrist, attempting to pull her outside, "We need to talk and we can't do that with this bitch constantly interrupting us, she obviously has no idea what we've been through and what our history is."

Brittany pulls back and rips herself away from his grasp. Her face is red and there's anger in her eyes, "History is history, Cody, and don't you dare talk about my girlfriend that way!" Brittany yells out before even thinking about it.

All three of them are stunned. For a split second Santana drops her mouth. Brittany looks back at her with a shocked and apologetic look on her face.

"Girlfriend?" Cody questions, "This is Santana isn't it? I thought she was _just_ your best friend?"

"She is – I mean she's –"

Quickly, Santana puffs up her chest and crosses her arms over her chest, stepping in between the two, "I'm not _just_ her best friend but that shouldn't be any of your concern. In fact, I suggest you leave now, I don't think the two of you have much else to discuss here anymore."

Both look at Santana, then Brittany looks back up at Cody and catches his eyes. "Fine, but you're going to regret this decision, Brittany. You know what you're missing out on, and you know how great we were together. I'm not giving up on us this quickly," and with that, Cody exits the room and closes the door.

The girls stand there, unmoving. Both too shy and stunned to look at each other.

"Santana, I –"

"What did –"

The girls say at the same time. Santana's heart is pounding so hard she can feel it in her throat. "Go ahead," Brittany says, gesturing for Santana to continue.

Santana swallows hard, "What did you mean – like – I'm your girlfriend?"

Brittany drops her head into her hands, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It just came out. I guess I thought that would shut him up and I don't know… I'm sorry," Brittany looks up, tears are brimming her eyes and she looks scared.

"Do you not mean it? Did you – do you not what that?" Santana stutters quietly.

"I – I mean, yes. I do. I do want that, Santana. I just…" Brittany walks up to Santana and takes her hands in her own. "I just didn't want that to be the first time I say it… without asking first," Brittany says, not taking her eyes off their hands, lightly painting over Santana's knuckles with her thumb.

"Ask what?" Brittany looks up confused before she sees the smirk on Santana's lips, and she smiles herself.

"Santana, would –"

"Yes."

"You don't even know what I was going to ask."

"I think I do, and my answer is yes," She winks.

"Oh, I was going to ask if you would mind looking after Lord Tubbington for me while I'm away next time since I don't think he likes my sister very much since she started dressing him up in tutu's," Brittany says as she rolls her eyes and smiles. Santana's eyes widen before she looks away and exhales loudly. "I'm kidding." Brittany pulls the shorter girl in closer and wraps her arms around her neck. "Santana, would you be my girlfriend?"

The girls look into each other's eyes; absorbing as much as they can from each other. Santana wraps her arms around Brittany's waist and nods, "Yes."

Santana tilts her head up and Brittany closes the gap between them. Brittany pulls Santana impossibly closer as she breathes in all that is Santana. They break apart resting their foreheads together. Brittany gives Santana a peck on the nose, "Let's finish dinner, I'm hungry," she says as she plops back down onto the bed and grabbing the sandwich, leaving Santana standing and watching.

"You're so romantic," Santana rolls her eyes before walking back towards the bed to join her girlfriend.

"And don't you forget it," Brittany says with a full mouth while offering Santana a bite of her pickle. Santana shakes her head. Brittany shrugs and bites into it herself. Santana stands there and watches as Brittany chews happily then swallows her bite. Licking her lips and wiping her hands on a napkin, she stands back up and kisses Santana again because she can, "Why don't you unpack your things and get changed into something more comfy so you can join me in some cuddles?"

Santana nods and turns towards her luggage as Brittany sits down again lifting her sandwich to her lips. Santana turns back around and takes a couple of quick steps back towards Brittany just as Brittany opens her mouth to take a bite, Santana's head is right next to hers. Without closing her mouth, Brittany looks in Santana's direction. Santana's eyes are as big as her smile. Brittany closes her mouth and moves her sandwich holding hands towards her girlfriend. Santana takes a bite then pecks Brittany on the lips again before walking back to her suitcase to unpack.

Brittany finishes up her sandwich and relaxes in bed while Santana is washing up. "What time are you working tomorrow?" Santana asks from the washroom.

"I have to be at the studio at 7am, want to come with me?"

Santana looks out from behind the washroom door and stares blankly at Brittany. "I mean, sure. I can. If you want me to go, I will," Santana says without blinking.

Brittany chuckles knowing that Santana is not a morning person, "Don't worry about it, San. I was kidding. I wouldn't make you wake up that early. I go in at 1 in the afternoon the following day, you can join me then. You can rest tomorrow; I should be back by 3-ish." Suddenly, Brittany hops off the bed, "I'll be right back!" She yells and is out the door before Santana can even answer.

Santana finishes washing up and changes into her pajamas, which consist of a plain faded orange v-neck tshirt, and boy shorts. She sits on top of the blanket, leaning on a couple of propped up pillows against the headboard, flipping through channels. Brittany finally returns with a smile on her face.

"Where did you go?" Santana ask as she looks up at the blonde walking towards her and taking off her shoes.

"Well, I couldn't leave here tomorrow morning and keep you trapped in this room with nowhere to go, so, I went down to the front desk to get you another key." Brittany hands her the key but pulls it back before Santana is able to grab it. Leaning down instead so Santana could give her a thank you kiss.

After a few pecks, Brittany gives Santana the key, "Thank babe." Santana sets it on the night stand next to her side of the bed.

Brittany gets on the bed and Santana automatically cuddles up next to her. They watch T.V. for a while in comfortable silence.

Before Santana even realizes what's going on, she's confused with why Brittany is whispering her name. "What?" Santana mumbles, a little bit frustrated.

"Babe, you gotta lift your bum so I can get the blanket on top of you. You're starting to get goosebumps."

"Huh?" Santana asks, still confused. She notices Brittany is stroking her arm. Finally realizing that she had fallen asleep and Brittany was trying to keep her warm with her own body heat. "Oh, sorry," Santana says quietly while lifting herself off the covers as Brittany slides it out from underneath her.

"It's okay, I just don't want you to catch a cold while you're here."

Both girls slide under the blanket and Brittany adjusts the pillows so they're lying flat. Once they both are settled comfortably in bed, Brittany reaches over and turns off the light. Santana snuggling back into her girlfriend as soon as she turns back around.

"I love how cuddly you are," Brittany whispers into Santana's hair.

"Shhh… I'm badass. You're cuddly," Santana say in hardly a mumble. She's about to close her eyes, when she realizes they were already closed. Had she had them closed this whole time? She feels like she probably did and had just felt her way around the bed ever since Brittany partially woke her up. A part of her was still asleep. It was a long day for her, full of travel and excitement. The feeling of being wrapped up in Brittany's arms are familiar and comforting. Probably one of the most comfortable feelings in the world. If it was possible that she could stay in Brittany's arms forever, she'd probably do it.

* * *

The next morning, Santana wakes up in a panic. She turns and notices Brittany still sleeping beside her. "Britt! Britt! Wake up!" Santana calls out, shaking her girlfriend.

"What? What is it?" Brittany jerks up and looks into Santana's eyes, seeing the panic.

"You're late! You slept through your alarm!"

"What?" Brittany quickly turns around and looks at the digital alarm clock sitting on her nightstand. She takes a large exhale to calm her nerves and turns back to her panicking girlfriend. "It's 4 in the morning, Santana."

"What? No, it's 10. I set my alarm for 10am and it went off. I…" Santana looks at her cellphone. 4am it is. She checks her alarm. It's still set for 10 am. "…I might have dreamt it. I'm sorry, Britt." Santana drops her head down and looks at Brittany apologetically through her lashes.

Brittany shakes her head with a slight smile and scoots herself closer to Santana; keeping herself propped up by her elbow. She takes her hand and tucks it behind the brunette's ear, pulls her in, and kisses her forehead, "Let's go back to sleep."

Santana nods, "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Brittany responds as they both lie back down onto their pillows. They tuck themselves into each other once again before falling asleep.

* * *

Santana wakes up again to the sun shining through the edges of the window. The mattress next to her is cold and her alarm is blaring. She picks up her phone to turn off the alarm when she notices a text.

 _From Britt: Good morning, beautiful. Ure so cute when u sleep._

Attached to the text is a photo of Brittany taking a selfie with a sleeping Santana. In a way, Santana is embarrassed by the way her hair is all over the place and her mouth is slightly opened, but at the same time she kind of likes the way she's tucked under Brittany's chin and the fact that Brittany is kissing her forehead makes the photo 100 times better.

Santana shoots a text back before getting up and making herself a coffee with one of the in-room coffee makers. She washes up while it brews and when she finally takes a sip, she realizes she should probably head out so she can grab herself a real cup of coffee as she pours the one she just made down the sink.

Santana goes down the street to a local coffee shop and stands in line. She catches the eye of the barista a few times but just shrugs it off as her trying to gauge how long each customer's wait will be. After Santana orders herself a medium blonde roast (because that one has the most caffeine), Santana waits in the second line to pick up her order.

"Medium blonde, Santana," The barista calls out.

Santana walks up to the counter to grab her drink as the barista slides the cup towards her. She looks up to thank her and the barista gives her a small smile as her fingers linger on Santana's cup. This girl is blonde, a little darker blonde than Brittany, medium build and just a little shorter than Santana herself. She's has a pretty smile. Santana thanks her and leaves the coffee shop to wander the streets of L.A. for a while. She buys herself a few magazines and then wanders into a pastry shop where she decides to buy herself a slice of tiramisu and Brittany a chocolate mousse cake with sprinkles. She goes back to the hotel and puts the cakes in the fridge. She reads through one of her magazines, taking those silly quizzes that everyone knows means nothing, but she takes them seriously anyways.

For lunch, Santana goes down to the little café attached to the hotel and buys herself a Caesar salad with grilled chicken. She's sitting on a stool, eating the last few bites and looking out the window at pedestrians passing by when suddenly something catches her eye. She takes the final bite of her salad and she sees the girl more clearly walking next to a taller man, and a bounce in her step. Quickly, Santana grabs her phone and sends a text.

 _To Britt: Where are u going?_

She sees the girl stop bouncing and looks at her phone, the tall man waiting beside her. Santana watches with a smile when Brittany scrunches her face and looks all around then she sees her typing something into her phone. A split second later, her phone buzzes.

 _From Britt: I'm on my way back to the hotel. The shoot ended early. Where are u?_

 _To Britt: ure cute when you skip and everyone else is walking at a slower pace._

Santana is holding down a chuckle when she sees Brittany check her phone again, and panning the area. She turns to the taller man and he, too, is scanning the scene. Before Brittany can respond, Santana sends another quick text.

 _To Britt: Who's the guy?_

Maybe that was the wrong text to send because right as Brittany read it, she linked her arm through the man's before texting Santana back.

 _From Britt: My boyfriend._

As soon as Santana saw the arm link, she didn't even need to read the text, although she did. She got up from her chair and stormed towards Brittany, staring down the taller man.

"What the fuck is this?" Santana yells out and a few people crossing her path turn to look at her.

"Santana," Brittany says while unlinking her arm from the guys. "Vic, this is my girlfriend Santana. Santana, this is my friend and co-worker, Vic."

Santana stands with her hands on her hips and a glare that sends daggers through Vic's nerves, "A co-worker, hmm?"

Brittany nods and walks up to Santana, puts her hands on her shoulders and kisses her on the cheek, "Yes, a co-worker. I was taking him back to introduce the two of you. I've known him the longest in the industry and he always been one of my biggest supporters here in L.A."

Santana's glare lightens up as Vic waves to her. Vic is about 5'11", medium build, broad muscular shoulders, and nice hair.

"Hi Santana," Vic sticks out his hand and Brittany bumps her to reciprocate, "Brittany has told me a lot about you and I got so excited to meet you, I had to meet you right away."

Instantly, Santana knew she had nothing to be worried about, "So Vic, you're…"

"As gay as a fuchsia flamingo in a tutu tap dancing on a pride parade float, honey," Victor interrupts.

Santana blushes and looks away before continuing, "I was going to ask if you're a stunt double in K.O. Kandi as well, but thanks for letting me know that tidbit of information."

Brittany and Vic both burst out in laughter, "Oh God, that's so embarrassing, but not really. Yes, well kind of. I'm an actor that does his own stunts."

Santana's eyes widen and nods as she takes in that unbelievable information.

"Vic is super bubbly and happy in person, but put him in front of the camera and you can't tell the difference between him and Jean Claude Van Damme," Brittany adds.

"Except, I'm taller than Jean Claude and a lot younger," Vic says as he smooths out his hair.

The girls invite Vic out for an afternoon snack at one of the local markets. Santana had just eaten, but she has a smoothie while Brittany and Vic each eat a sandwich. They talk about how they met during one of Brittany's first auditions and how the two of them, along with Mike at the time, were super nervous. Brittany and Mike didn't become friends until about a year later when they worked together on a film, but Brittany and Vic hit it off right away and has stayed great friends since; even if they don't see each other very often, when they do, it's like nothing has changed.

After the girls say their goodbyes to Victor, they take a walk around the city and Brittany shows Santana where she shot certain parts of the show. On their walk home after Santana buys Brittany an ice cream cone from a street vendor because Brittany wouldn't take her eyes off of it, Brittany offers Santana some. She quickly licks the top of the cone and looks directly at Brittany as she does it. Brittany's smile flattens and what looks like a wave of heat runs through her body. Shaking herself off and taking a bite of the ice cream herself, Brittany turns and continues walking towards the hotel. Brittany stops suddenly and turns to face her girlfriend.

"What wrong?" Santana asks.

"Nothing," Brittany pecks Santana on the lips, catching the other girl off guard. "Thank you for the ice cream," Brittany smiles and takes Santana's hand in her own. They walk the rest of the way back hand in hand.

Santana has never felt this happy holding hands with someone. When Santana had a boyfriend or girlfriend she would usually just link arms with them or nothing at all. Holding hands, especially interlocking fingers felt too intimate and foolish. Like she was chained down or whipped, and it made her feel uncomfortable. However, with Brittany, it felt right. It felt perfect. She didn't care how others think when she's with Brittany. Smiling to herself and looking down to see their hands clasped together made her heart flutter like nothing else ever did. They walked in silence back to the hotel, enjoying each other's presence, window shopping, and sharing Brittany's ice cream. _Best. Date. Ever._

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Constructive Criticism?

P.S. Some of you have been wondering about why Santana is so mean to Kurt and Rachel - this will be explained in ch.19 or possibly 20 as the chapter seems to be getting long and I may have to split it. While others have been wondering about Puck, don't worry. He's not completely out of the picture yet. ;)


	19. Chapter 19

AN: Hey guys. Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts on my surgery. It was successful but I'm still in recovery so I can't be at a computer for too long each day. Special thanks to Dr. Shapiro for going beyond just leaving a comment, your words made me smile.  
I hope you all enjoy this chapter, the next one will be up as soon as I can. Hopefully in a week... a week and a half at most. Thank you for your patience.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

The next day, the girls order room service before Brittany has to head to the studio. It's 10am and Brittany needs to be at the studio before 1pm. They each order eggs benedict and Santana gets a coffee while Brittany gets an orange juice.

"This coffee is so different than the one they have in the maker over there," Santana points to the little coffee machine sitting on the desk. "That coffee is horrible."

"You actually drank that? It's usually not as good, that's why it's free."

"How would you know? You don't drink coffee."

"Co… I was told, by some people," Brittany corrects herself.

"You mean Cody told you?" Santana presses her lips together and looks at Brittany knowingly.

Brittany ducks her head down, "Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to bring him up, he just constantly complained about hotel room free coffees, that's why it's embedded in my mind that it's not good."

"It's okay, you don't need to apologize, Britt," Santana says as she lifts Brittany's head up by the chin. "Lots of stuff in this city would probably remind you of him because you probably spent most, if not all your time with him when you were here. I understand that," Santana felt proud of herself for what she said. Although it's completely true, and she does understand, she can't help but feel a little jealous when she thinks of all the time Brittany has spent in hotel rooms with Cody.

Even though Santana is a good actress, it doesn't fool Brittany and she knows Santana feels a little insecure about the mention of her ex-boyfriend, "We'll make our own memories. Better ones. The fact that you came to surprise me already overshadows most of the stuff in the past." Brittany leans in to kiss Santana while placing a hand on her cheek. A kiss that tells Santana that all her words are true. "Best. Surprise. Ever," she says between pecks.

Santana smiles shyly, does a one shoulder shrug, then nods. They talk a little bit about the part Brittany will be shooting and how they've practiced this scene numerous times so she doesn't think they will be at the studio for very long. Brittany will be shooting a scene with Vic and then Cody. Hearing his names sends a burning feeling up Santana's throat but she swallows it back down. After breakfast, the girls got ready and headed out the door. They decided to walk to the studio today since the weather was so beautiful.

As they walk down the street, Brittany pulls Santana towards the coffee shop she went to yesterday.

"They have good coffee here, San. I'll get you one. I also love their brownies so I'm gonna get one for my break later on today." Santana nods and they go in.

"I had coffee here yesterday after I had that horrible one, I really liked it. It was so smooth. Get me a medium blonde roast?" Santana asks as they step into the lineup.

The place is packed with people getting their mid-morning coffee boost. "Why don't you try to grab us a seat while I order? We have about an hour to kill so we might as well chill here. There's a free table there! Grab it before its gone!" Brittany points to a little table at the corner excitedly and Santana quickly makes a move for it and sits down just as a middle aged man gets to the table.

"Excuse me, only paying customers are allowed to sit here," The man says bitterly while holding a coffee in one hand and a scone in the other.

"I _am_ a paying customer. My girlfriend is paying right over there," Santana points towards Brittany as Brittany is collecting her change from the cashier. The man huffs and turns to leave, sitting at long bench shared amongst other singles.

Santana is checking her phone and responds to a couple text from Rachel and Mercedes. Telling them where she was. Both of them were shocked that Santana would go that far, and be that spontaneous. Santana just explains to them that it just felt right. Scary, but right and that she had news for them when she gets back. Both Rachel and Mercedes correctly guessing what the big news was even if Santana refused to confirm it.

Santana is smiling at her phone at their guesses when someone taps her on the shoulder. She looks up and it's the barista with the pretty smile.

"Oh, hi!" Santana says to her with a smile of her own.

"You didn't order anything?" The girl asks.

"I did my –"

"Here you go," Brittany says as she puts the cup and a brown paper bag in front of Santana, "I bought you a cranberry muffin too in case you get hungry later at the studio."

Both girls turn to the barista, Dani is what it says on her name tag.

"Was just going to wipe some wet spots off the table for ya," Dani says as she takes a towel out of her apron and wipes the edge of the table.

"Thanks!" Brittany says cheerfully as Dani walks towards the back of the store and through the employee doors.

"Where do you want to go for dinner after your shoot?" Santana asks as she looks into the bag where her muffin sits.

Brittany hums as she thinks about it, "There's this place just passed the studio that has amazing burgers, wanna go there?"

"Sure! That sounds delicious." Santana reaches behind her to the rack of newspapers and grabs one. She flips the pages as Brittany watches curiously. Then Santana takes a pen out of her purse and places both the newspaper and pen in front of Brittany; Sudoku side up.

Brittany smiles up at her girlfriend, "You remembered!"

"I did, I would have done this at breakfast but I was way too comfy in my PJs hanging out with you to go down to the lobby to get you the paper."

"Or you were just too lazy to change," Brittany taunts her as she picks up the pen and starts filling up a couple boxes.

"Well, then maybe next time I'll go down to the lobby in my boy shorts, and tank top to pick up the newspaper for you. Braless, I might add, since I'm too lazy to put that on too and you know how well air conditioned the lobby is," Santana sneers in response.

Brittany looks up from the paper, eyes wide. Santana can see her eyes clearly, and they're beautiful. Her bright blue eyes staring right into her own, then they just happen to travel down towards her chest and back up again as Brittany licks her lips and swallows, possibly some drool. Then she realizes what would happen if Santana were to go into the lobby by herself dressed like that, "No!" Brittany says a little too loudly and a few customers stop their conversations to look at them. Brittany repeats herself a little quieter while leaning in towards Santana, "No, you don't – no. Why? Why would you catch a cold like that? I don't want you sick. If you go into the lobby I would prefer if you wore sweat pants and a jacket to cover all the nipples – I mean, all of – I mean…"

Santana laughs quietly amused by Brittany's stuttering and lack of composure, "Britt." Brittany continues to stumble through her words looking anywhere she can to find the words she's desperately trying to use, "Britt!" Santana says more firmly this time and Brittany looks up at her. "I'm kidding, I wouldn't do that. And god you're cute," Santana says as she grabs a hold of Brittany's hand that's sitting on top of the newspaper.

Brittany lets out a breath. "Okay, good," she lets out as she takes a hold of Santana's hand that's sitting on top of her own. She pulls up Santana's hand and puts it onto her lips and kisses her knuckle softly, "My eyes only."

Santana nods in response and blushes both at the gesture of the hand kiss in public and at what Brittany said. Sure, they haven't gone very far sexually yet. They haven't even gone past making out and the occasional groping, but just the thought of her body belonging to Brittany's eyes only actually makes her heart rate increase and makes her a little bit nervous in a good way.

They sit in the coffee shop for another half hour as Brittany finishes her Sudoku and Santana sips on her coffee watching her girlfriend's mind race through the puzzle. Always impressed by how quickly she does even the hardest ones.

* * *

When they get to the studio, Brittany introduces Santana to some members of the cast and crew and shows her where she can sit while she is working. They say hi to Vic and he gives them a small wave and a smile before continuing to stretch. As Santana is looking around she notices a tall, muscular, shirtless man going through some of his techniques. He turns around and his body is like straight out of a magazine, then she looks at his face and her body and mind goes into jealous/protective mode. Of course that had to be Brittany's ex-beau.

"San?"

It snaps Santana out of her zone, "Huh?"

"I asked if you wanted a bottle of water or anything."

"Oh, no, I'm ok. Thanks."

Brittany follows Santana's gaze and sighs, "Don't worry about him. He'll get over it."

Santana is still worried, she feels like there's something off in the air. Maybe it's her Mexican third eye but she doesn't like the feeling of Cody being here, but then again, maybe she's just jealous. "Yeah, ok, Britt."

"I have to head to the dressing room now, are you okay to stay here for a bit?"

"Yeah, sure, I'll hang out here," Santana takes a seat and reaches into her bag to find her phone. She's checking her emails and voicemail. The movie has been pushed back a week and will start at the beginning of next month. This makes Santana happy, because then she can spend another week in L.A. with Brittany and possibly go back with her. She quickly sends a text to Mercedes to let her know she'll be out of town for another week and if anything comes up, like another audition for a smaller role that she won't be able to take it until she gets back.

After sending out that text, she looks up and sees a group of 3 men looking at her, including Cody. Santana looks around to make sure they're not looking at someone else, but there's no one else around her. They were definitely looking at her. As soon as Santana makes eye contact with them, they turn away and continue talking. They're too far for Santana to hear them but she assumes they're talking about her by the way they keep glancing over. One guy finally turns and walks towards her.

 _What the fuck?_ Santana thinks to herself and tries to look busy with her phone and maybe he'll go away.

"Excuse me, hi," The man says once he stops in front of Santana.

Santana looks up from her phone and internally groans. "Hi, yes?"

"You see my friend over there?" He points towards Cody.

"Sure?" Santana says, not too thrilled about where this conversation was headed.

"Word on the street is that you're macking on his girl and I don't want to be the bearer of bad news here, but he's going to get her back."

Santana puts down her phone gracefully then looks up at the man. He's tall, but not as tall as Cody. He's blonde, and he has a slim build. "Excuse me?"

"You know what I'm talking about. Look, these two have a history, a deep past, and they're meant to be together. My bro over there has worked hard to keep her close and he made one little mistake and she books it over the fence. It's not fair to him."

Santana's blood starts to boil. She stands up and faces him. She has to look up a little to make eye contact, but she doesn't have a problem going all Lima Heights on a taller person, she's done it before. "Look, I'm sorry if your 'bro' lost his chance with Brittany, but it's her choice. She can do whatever she wants to do and be with whoever she wants to be with."

"And she'll want to be with him after what he's going to do for her. You won't even have a chance. You can't give her what she wants, she loves the D."

Santana is clenching her teeth so hard she feels like she can crack a filling. This is something she's never thought about. He's right about that. Santana can't give Brittany what Cody can and that comment renders her speechless.

Just then, both of them hear laughter coming from the side door by the change rooms. Brittany is laughing with the other guy and Cody is standing next to her.

The blonde guy looks over at Santana and gives her a content little 'I told you so' look before leaving her standing there wordless as he walks over to the group of stunt men and her girlfriend.

Santana takes her seat again as she tries her best not to over think, but she can't help it. _What is he going to do for her? They have a past. Brittany must love the D if she's been with him for so long. I can't compete against that. Am I going to lose her? I can't lose her._ A ripple of worry washes over her.

"Hey." That voice breaks Santana out of her own thoughts and she turns her head, Brittany is sitting next to her. "Is everything okay? What's going on?" Brittany asks worriedly.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Santana shoots out in frustration, stunning Brittany. "I'm sorry, really, I'm fine," Santana says, this time more calmly.

Brittany looks down at Santana's hands, "I want to believe you. I really do. But because of the fact that you're totally squishing the muffin I got you, I know something is wrong. Tell me, Please?"

Santana looks down at her hands. In her state of mass thinking, she unconsciously grabbed her muffin bag and starting ringing the top of the bag. Rolling it tightly downward until it hit the muffin, and then continued to squeeze and roll the bag as tight as she could. Santana relaxes her hands and looks up at Brittany before she takes in a deep breath.

"Brittany, you're up!" the assistant director calls out.

Both girls turn their head toward the voice before looking back at each other.

"Go ahead Britt, we'll talk about it after work. You need to focus on your job," Santana says as she nudges her arm.

Brittany furrows her brows nervously at her girlfriend, then back at the group of people setting up for her scene. "Okay, we'll talk about it after work. Don't overthink too much okay? Whatever it is, we'll work something out."

Santana nods, "K." Brittany leans over and kisses Santana on the cheek before getting up and heading towards the set. She's wearing a yellow and green plaid shirt with light blue jean shorts. "Hey!" Santana calls out and Brittany turns her head, "Be careful." Brittany nods and winks before jogging over to the stage and talking to the director and Vic. Brittany is stretching out her neck and shoulders as they're talking. Santana takes this moment to look around for Cody and his 2 henchmen, but they're nowhere to be found.

She checks her phone and decides to ask Mercedes if she's being unreasonable for worrying. Of course, the level headed Mercedes just tells her to talk to Brittany about it before jumping to any conclusion.

"Action!" They call out and Santana watches as her girlfriend and Vic fight off 4 burly men. Vic, using his strength and power to beat his opponents down, whereas Brittany uses her agility and speed and outwits the attackers. Santana feels all proud and a little giddy at how amazing her Brittany is. They shoot the scene about 12 more times, until the director is happy with all the camera angles. By this point, Santana already knows what move is coming next and can already visualize the entire scene in her head.

During their break, Brittany jogs over to Santana, pecks her on the lips and jogs over to the change room. This small token of affection brings the tiniest smile Santana's face and it stays there until Brittany emerges out of the change room and jogs back towards Santana with a towel hanging over her neck, a water bottle in one hand and a brown paper bag in the other. She plops herself down next to her.

"Sorry, I'm sweaty and probably stinky," Brittany says as she opens the paper bag in her hands and takes out the brownie.

"That's okay, Britt. It's kinda sexy," she says quietly and takes out her own paper bag from her purse and unravels the tight bunch she created a while ago. She takes out her muffin and smiles at the fact that it's not as squished as she expected it to be and proudly shows it to Brittany.

Brittany on the other hand is just staring at her, "You think my stinkyness is sexy?"

Santana laughs as she rips a piece of muffin off and feeds it to Brittany, "Well, the stinkyness doesn't bother me since you don't, but the sweating is kinda sexy. Considering what you had to do to. That was a total turn on."

"Sweet!" Brittany says as she takes a sip of her water then takes a bite out of her brownie, then offers Santana a bite; which she takes. "So, what's going on in that head of yours? Tell me."

Santana sighs as she chews the bite she took, "I don't think it's anything, Britt. Really. I'm probably worrying about nothing."

"Yes, but something had to have caused it. Is it Cody? Did he say something to you again?"

"Well, no. Not exactly. But one of his friends did, the blonde guy?"

"Jason." Brittany says with a shake of the head. "Cody, Jason, and Adam are almost always together. They're 'Bros before Hoes' type guys. Jason and Adam are constantly single and bragging about themselves, and while they're nice to me, they can be pretty cocky and douche baggy to other people."

"Yeah, you seemed to have had a good laugh with them," Santana mumbles.

"Woah, wait, hold on," Brittany says and Santana looks down and sucks her lips into her mouth, feeling as if she made a mistake blurting out the accusation. "Hey, look at me," Brittany says gently and Santana looks up through her lashes. "They might be assholes to a lot of people, but they're still my friends. Well, not friends so much as co-workers. So, I'm nice to them. Unless you give me a reason not to be. What did he say, Santana?"

"Hey Brittany, let's get this thing done so we can get out of here early. Are you ready to continue?"

Brittany looks up and nods, "We're going to talk about this as soon as I'm finished, okay?" Santana nods but it wasn't good enough for the blonde, "Okay?" she asks again.

"Okay," Santana says quietly.

Brittany takes Santana's hand and kisses her knuckles before getting up off the chair and going back onto the set.

Brittany finishes her set with Cody after about 2 hours. Both of them were professional and Cody didn't try anything on Brittany. After the shot was done, Santana saw Cody hold Brittany back to talk to her. It seemed like a serious conversation with a lot of head shaking and hand gestures. It looked like Cody was begging and getting frustrated at the same time and Brittany was looking apologetic and disappointed.

Brittany walks towards Santana looking like she's deep in thought. "I'm going to get changed then we can go," Brittany says as she gives Santana a half smile, "I'll be out in less than 5 minutes."

After Brittany disappears into the change room, Cody approaches Santana. "You know this isn't over right? I know the two of you haven't dated for very long and I _will_ win her back if it's the last thing I do." He walks away and heads towards his boys. They all turn to look at Santana then turn and walk the other way towards the change room just as Brittany walks out they stop to talk to her. Jason and Adam look particularly friendly and they make Brittany smile. She even gives Adam a hug and it makes Santana's stomach turn.

Brittany walks over to Santana and grabs her hand as they leave the studio. They both walk back in deep thought, Brittany speaks first, "What are you thinking about?"

"You."

"Me and…?" Santana takes a deep breath and sighs. Brittany then drags her to the closest bench and forces Santana to sit down so they can talk. "Okay, Santana. This is driving me crazy, what's going on?"

"Jason said that Cody is desperate to get you back, and that you being with me isn't fair to him. And…" she trails off.

"And…?"

Santana get shy and looks around to make sure no one is close enough to hear their conversation, "And he said that you won't stay with me for long because I can't give you what Cody can."

"And what's that?" Brittany's eyes are burning into her own as she looks up into them. Santana bites her bottom lip and looks away, she can't seem to say the words. Finally it hits Brittany, she figures out what Santana was trying to say. "Santana, no. You can't think that. I don't care about that. I want to be with you because you're you. I don't date someone because of their appendages or lack of. It's not just about the sex, although I'm sure sex with you would be amazing," This causes Santana to blush and feel her skin heat up, but Brittany continues like she didn't say anything out of the ordinary, "but it's about the feelings and the emotions behind it that makes it mind blowing, that is what makes the connection real. Please don't listen to anything they say. It's not true."

"So..." Santana starts, "You won't regret it? You won't feel like you'd be missing out on anything?"

Confidently, Brittany shakes her head, "No way." Brittany takes Santana's hand and stands up, pulling Santana up with her. As soon as Santana stands up, Brittany leans in so her bottom lip is just barely grazing the edge of Santana's ear, "Let's go back so I can prove it to you," she whispers in her ear in the raspiest voice Santana has ever heard and it sends a wave of arousal up her legs and through her core almost causing her legs to give out. Santana nods. "Okay," Brittany says, "But first, let's go get that burger, I'm hungry." Brittany drags Santana away from the bench and towards the end of the street where the burger joint is.

Santana sucks in a quick breath as she's being dragged away and giggles at Brittany's excitement, she was eager to get back to the hotel so she can enjoy Brittany all over her, but she sucks it up for the time being. A little bit of anticipation only makes things better, right?

The girls go to the burger shop and Brittany was right, the burgers were amazing. They were juicy and packed with flavour but Santana couldn't take her mind off of what Brittany said and was anxious to get back to their room.

"I have a question," Brittany blurts out and Santana shakes herself out of her eagerness and looks up at Brittany as the blonde takes a bite out of her bacon and 3 cheese burger. Santana nods for her to continue. "What if I wasn't alone in the hotel? Like, what if I had a roommate for the shoot, which sometimes happens. Where would you stay?"

Santana takes a sip of their shared strawberry milkshake and shakes her head before swallowing down a bite, "No idea," She laughs. "Honestly, I didn't think that far. All I knew was that I wanted to see you," she begins to blush. "I guess I would've gotten a room myself or maybe at another hotel, depending on your reaction."

"You're amazing," Brittany says, as she locks eyes with Santana.

Santana blushes again, her cheeks and the tips of her ears get slightly reddish, even with her tanned skin. "You're the amazing one," Santana says. "You're like a super hero. You saved my life. The things you do and have accomplished are incredibly impressive, you're sweet and kind and full of positive energy that everyone wants and needs. I'm just –" She shrugs, "I'm just me." She looks down at her tomato and avocado burger then looks back up when she feels that Brittany hasn't removed her gaze.

As soon as they lock eyes again Brittany has a smile on her face, "Exactly." She takes Santana's hand and raises it to her mouth, kissing her finger tips causing Santana to smile back.

They finish their burger with little chit chat then make their way back to the hotel. Santana feels so warm inside. The way Brittany makes her feel was indescribable, she makes her feel… loved, perhaps?

They walk back quickly to the hotel, Santana can't stop replaying Brittany's words in her head all the love all the care Brittany has expressed was a first for her and it's making her feel anxious and nervous but at the same time completely giddy and excited. During their walk back, Brittany's phone would beep with a text and she would look at it, but ignore it. A couple times it would ring, but Brittany would just look at the caller ID and then ignore the call.

"Who is that?" Santana asks after the third time they called.

"Cody. Don't worry about it. I'll clear everything up with him later, and I'll make sure he gets it this time that it's over between us, that I only want you."

"Okay," Santana nods, putting all her trust into Brittany

Once they get back into their room the first thing Brittany does once the door is closed is wrap her arms around the shoulders of the smaller girl in front of her. Santana wraps her arms around Brittany's waist, bringing them closer together. Brittany leans down and kisses Santana passionately. Santana starts walking backwards with Brittany guiding her from the front. Santana's back hits the wall gently and Brittany pushes herself against her, not once breaking their kiss. Santana's tongue slides into Brittany's mouth and they battle it out. Their tongues massaging each other as Brittany's hands slide down the sides of Santana's body and rests them on her hips.

Santana slides her own hands under Brittany's shirt and she feels the softness of her skin on her lower back as she slowly makes her way up Brittany's back, she notices she's not wearing a bra, and it causes Santana to gasp and break the kiss. Their foreheads are leaning on each other, they're panting hard and arousal is filling both ladies quickly.

"My bra was all sweaty and I forgot to pack a spare," Brittany explained.

Not even taking a moment to let that sink in, Santana presses her lips against her girlfriend's again as she grabs a hold of the bottom of her shirt and pulls it upwards, breaking the kiss only to pull the shirt over the blonde's head. Glancing down at Brittany beautifully toned body, Santana shifts her legs trying to control herself. Brittany quickly unbuttons Santana's blouse and strips it off of her, throwing it to the side. Kissing her on the lips then gradually moving down Santana's neck, then shoulder, then down to her collar bone, and stopping just above the breast.

One of Santana's hands is resting on Brittany's back, while the other one has sunk into her hair as Brittany kisses and nips at the area just above where the bra is covering. Reaching around, Brittany does her bra with one hand and pulls it down from the center of her chest, tossing it in the same direction as her blouse. Taking in the beauty that is Santana's body, Brittany's breath is heavy. She moves up and kisses Santana on the lips and murmurs, "You're beautiful." Before making her way back down taking a nipple in her mouth and sucking it causing Santana to moan and press her hand harder against the back of Brittany's head. Brittany's other hand is playing with the other breast. Massaging and teasing the nipple, twirling it between her index and thumb, and driving Santana wild.

"Fuck, Britt." Santana lets out uncontrollably.

Brittany smiles with her nipple gently between her teeth. Brittany drops her hands to the top of Santana's jeans. Running her fingers along the edge of it until she reaches the button, which she undoes right away. Slowly she kisses her way back up the Latina's body, kissing and licking a trail up her neck. A salty sweet flavour coming off of Santana's heated body. Brittany pushes Santana's skinny jeans down as much as she can and Santana helps her get the rest of it off as she steps out of them. Brittany pushes herself against Santana, their breasts crashing together. She nips at Santana's ear and husks out, "bed," before she slaps Santana's ass lightly, motioning her hop on. Which she does and Brittany carries her to the bed with ease. She gently sets Santana down onto the bed and leans back into her. Santana reaches down and pulls at Brittany's sweat pants. Brittany climbs out of them as they scoot up to the center of the bed.

With Brittany hovering over Santana, her eyes darkened as she looks down at her girlfriend. Santana smiles up at her, causing Brittany to smile as well. Brittany brushes Santana's hair away from her eyes as they both take in the way they look in anticipation of what's going to happen next. Santana slowly running her hand up and down Brittany's bare arm before Brittany leans down and crashes their lips together, she's straddling her and as they kiss Brittany slowly slides her hand down over the Latina's beautifully full boobs, down her tight abs, and under her panties. Brittany can feel how wet she is and both of them whimper at the touch. Slowly, Brittany runs her finger through Santana's folds as her mouth begins to attack her neck. Brittany begins to make circles around Santana's clit; Santana moaning and whimpering with every touch.

"God, Britt. That feels so good."

Using whatever strength is left, Santana tries to reach for Brittany's panties so both of them can bathe in the pleasure. but just as she's about to slide her fingers down her panties, Brittany slowly inserts her middle finger into Santana's core causing the Latina to moan loudly and stop her movements. Brittany pulls out and thrusts back in a bit rougher before moving her lips up to Santana's ear, "Don't worry about me, let me show you how much I want you, only you."

And with that, Santana gives a nod and removes her hand to rest on Brittany's lower back. The other hand in her own hair. Brittany fills Santana up with two fingers and starts pumping in and out at a quick pace. Long lean fingers entering Santana deeper with every thrust, the palm of hand pushing up against her clit every time Brittany goes as deep as she can. Santana slides her hand down Brittany's ass and pushes it so Brittany's clit hits the back of her own hand and she whimpers at how sensitive she is even though her panties. She shudders and pauses for a moment.

"Oh god, San. Fuck, I'm – I'm so close already."

Brittany drops down onto her elbow as her other hand continues to thrust into her girlfriend, her own climax building as Santana continues to push her ass down each time. They have an amazing rhythm going, satisfying both girls. Brittany buries her head into Santana's neck, nipping and biting whenever she can. Brittany's own sweat mixing with Santana's.

"Oh Brittany, oh fuck, I'm close – I'm close," Santana forces out as her hips push upwards, matching Brittany's thrusts. Santana grips at her own hair and digs her nails into Brittany's ass.

"Me too. Almost – there."

Brittany quickens the pace, humping her own hand and directing her fingers and her palm onto her girlfriend roughly.

"I can't hold it any longer, Britt. I'm coming," Santana manages to get out before she reaches her climax.

Brittany can't even form words, she's on the edge too. She can only let out a whisper into the other girl's ear, "San."

Santana screams out as she comes, her eyes shut hard and her body shakes with pleasure.

Brittany's hips and abs convulse as she comes a few moments after Santana. Hearing her girlfriend scream out throws her over the edge.

Brittany slows down her movements until she doesn't even have the strength to move anymore. She falls to the side of Santana as she slowly pulls her fingers out, wiping them on her own panties. Then she hears Santana chuckle and looks up at her from being buried in her neck for so long. "Why are you laughing?" Brittany asks confused.

Santana pulls Brittany's chin up and she kisses her lightly and tenderly. "I think next time, we should remove the underwear. They're kind of… ruined."

Brittany drops her forehead back onto Santana's shoulder with a groan and kisses it. "Sorry, I got too excited."

"Completely understood, so was I," Santana whispers as she runs her fingers up and down Brittany's bare back then turns her head to kiss the top of Brittany's.

Brittany is the first to rid herself of her now cold and wet panties. Santana soon copies her. They wrap their naked bodies in the bedsheets and close their eyes.

"Britt?" Santana whispers quietly after a few moments of silence.

"Hm?" Brittany answers.

Santana knows this is a stupid question, but she can't seem to stop herself from asking, her insecurities taking over, "Why didn't you ever tell me Cody was a handsome model that was super fit and stunning?"

"Because it didn't matter," Brittany answers simply. Pulling Santana into a tighter embrace, "Because he doesn't matter, nothing about him mattered anymore. The only thing that mattered to me was you, and getting to know you. You mattered." Brittany speaks into Santana's dark thick hair. Kissing the top of her head.

Santana gives a small nod and nuzzles her face into Brittany's neck. Her eyes closing with the relaxation and assurance of Brittany's words.

"You matter," Brittany whispers again as she too, drifts off into a relaxed light nap.

Santana feels like she needs to tell Brittany something. Something important, but she doesn't remember considering she just had mind blown. She'll remember it soon, she figures as she too, drifts off into a calming bliss.

* * *

Brittany is woken up by her room phone ringing. She glances at the clock. 8:30pm. She groans and picks up the phone, Santana digging her face closer into Brittany's bare chest.

"Hello?" Brittany answers the phone quietly.

Santana is tired but she's awake now and can only hear Brittany's side of the conversation.

"What are you talking about?" Brittany starts off saying. "Stop. Stop. Of course I do. I was busy. Okay. Okay, fine, put him on." Santana can feel the aggravation rise in her girlfriend's body and she looks up at her. Brittany glances at her, trying to give her a tight lipped smile before focusing back on the phone. "What is it? I do. Yes. Yes. Of course I do but what do you want me to do about it now? No, I'm with Santana now. I –" she was obviously cut off by the other person on the line. "Yes. Okay, look. I'll…" Brittany looks at Santana again and sighs. Santana furrows her brows in confusion. "I'll let you know later, okay? Yes, I get it, I get it. Okay. Bye."

Brittany hangs up the phone and falls back onto the bed, covering her face with the arm that's not currently wrapped around her girlfriend.

"What's wrong? Who was it?" Santana asks, vexed about the conversation.

"Don't get mad, okay?" Brittany says as she removes her arm from her face and sits up, Santana follows and sits up as well, facing Brittany. "At first it was Jason. Apparently Cody has been calling and texting me and got worried when I didn't answer or respond to the texts. Cody was freaking out or something. Then, he started guilt tripping me when Jason put him on the phone. He thought he needed to remind me that he was there for me throughout everything that happened in L.A., that he was all I had when I first got here with my first job. How he supported me and pushed me to be the best stunt double I could be. How he helped me become who I am today. Reminding me that he was there at the surge of my career. He met my parents and convinced my mom that my dreams were coming true and that she should be happy for me, even though she kind of already was. He said that now I'm ditching him, ditching our friendship, our history, that I don't care about him or any of that anymore, and…" she looks at Santana's face and then looks down again in disappointment when Santana encourages her to continue, "and he wants to see me tonight. Just to talk and maybe rekindle any friendship that's still left. That… that I owed it to him to try." Brittany sighs. "But I won't go if you don't want me to."

Santana looks away, and is in deep thought. She doesn't want to be the girlfriend that won't let her girlfriend to have friends of her own, even if they're her exes. She trusts Brittany, but she doesn't trust Cody. At the same time however, this may be a good chance for them to talk it out without her being there. Perhaps clear the air and then Brittany won't have the weight of this guilt sitting on her shoulders.

"How long?" Santana finally breaks the silence. Brittany looks up in surprise from staring at her own fingers. "How long will you be gone for?"

"An hour? Two at most."

Santana nods, "Fine."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you should go and figure all this out. You still have to work with the guy and well, he probably won't shut up about it until you at least have a conversation with him."

Brittany takes Santana's hands in hers and looks her straight in the eyes, "You're the best girlfriend ever. You know you can trust me right? Nothing is going to happen. We're just going to talk," Brittany reassures her.

"I know, I do. I trust you, Britt. Just… just be careful. I… I don't trust him."

"Don't worry. I will let him know 100% that I belong to you and that if he can't accept that, then he and I can't be friends anymore."

Santana gives a the best smile she can muster and nods, Brittany leans in and gives her a peck before reaching out for her large sleeping t-shirt and getting up from the bed. She takes her phone out from the purse she dropped by the door and her eyes widen, probably from the amount of missed calls and texts. She shakes her head and types out a text of her own. While she's doing that, Santana puts on some clothes; the room gets cold when they're not cuddling. Brittany then walks towards her and wraps her arms around her tightly. Santana hugs her back just as tight.

As they pull away, Brittany looks back at her phone. "He'll be here in 10 minutes, I'll go get ready. The sooner he gets here, the sooner I can come back to you."

"Yeah, please come back soon."

Brittany leans in and gives Santana a lingering peck before going into the washroom to clean up.

10 minutes later Brittany is freshened up and ready to go. She's dressed in casual jeans, a hoodie, and sneakers. No need to make a good impression tonight.

"2 hours, max," Brittany reminds her and Santana nods. "I'll see you later and thank you. Thank you for being so understanding. You're awesome. I'm so lucky."

Santana answers with a kiss and Brittany heads out the door. _This is going to be a long 2 hours._

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Please be kind.

This chapter had to be split since it got long and I figured this was the perfect spot to stop ;) love you guys too.

For everyone asking about a jealous Britt - patience young grasshoppers.


	20. Chapter 20

AN: Wow, so much hate on the last chapter. I get that a lot of you don't like Dani (I don't either… like I really really really don't like her), but shit happens – people you don't like show up and get in the way of relationships, some couples have to deal with crap like this especially if they're as hot as our girls. They're bound to have other people fall for them, but how they manage to move around it is what makes them so great. Do they love and trust each other? Of course they do; we all know that. Are they insecure at times? Of course they are. Sure, we think they're hot and meant to be together, so many of us think they have nothing to be insecure about, right? Wrong. They're human (fictional humans, but human nonetheless). This story would be _so boring_ if it's constant fluff with hand holding, and hugs, and kisses. Those can only fill so many pages. I have make you guys feel something, even if that feeling is anger, annoyance, sadness, frustration, joy, passion, or gleefulness (see what I did there?). If you hate all the people trying to break up our girls, I'm going to say sorry ahead of time because shit _will_ go down. Why is Brittany going to see Cody? Why? I don't know, but this happened in real life (my life) and sometimes it's harder to end things on a bad note than with proper closer especially if you work in the same industry, and that's what Britt wants – closure. So I hope you guys understand and doesn't stop you all from reading. You know our girls are endgame. With that said, here's a new chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

Outside of the hotel, Cody is waiting for Brittany. He's leaning up against his truck and when he sees her, he opens the door for her and she hops in. He drives to one of the parks on the other side of town (where they had their first date), and Brittany knows this is going to be a tough conversation to have. Cody gets out of the truck first and rushes around to open the door for Brittany, but before he could do that, Brittany is already out and closing the door behind her.

"Let's sit," Cody says as he puts his hand on her lower back. She quickly turns her body, sliding his hand off of her.

They sit down on a wooden bench facing a small pond. The sun has almost completely set and the reflection of the moon hits the pond. It's a crisp night out.

They sit in silence for a while. Brittany trying to choose her words carefully. "Cody-"

"Let me go first please, B," Cody interrupts, finally finding his words and Brittany gives a nod. He turns his body so it's facing hers, she's still staring out at the pond. "I know we didn't have the ideal situation with me being here and you being in Ohio, but I thought we had something really special. I thought maybe we could work something out. I'm willing to go wherever you want to go now. Ohio, Florida, Hawaii even. Whatever you want, B."

Brittany shakes her head, "I'm sorry, Cody. Things aren't the same anymore. I'm with Santana, and I intend to keep it that way."

"But, Brittany. I'm willing to move for you!" Cody exclaims as if it makes a difference.

"That doesn't matter. I don't feel that way about you anymore… and I haven't… I haven't for a while," She says as she looks him dead in the eyes to confirm that it's the truth.

Cody stands up, "This is bullshit, B. We were in love. We had a few fights and you ditch us? You ditch everything that we were and that's it? You can't just un-love someone just like that."

"Calm down, Cody. Please. It's not like that. I didn't ditch us, but things changed. Gradually. I felt it a long time ago, didn't you?"

"Obviously not," Cody puts his hand through his hair and then on his hips. "What can I do? What can I do to get you back?"

Brittany's heart is breaking for him, not because she loves him but because she doesn't. "Nothing."

"For fuck's sake," He stomps his foot. "You can't tell me what we had wasn't real. You can't tell me what you have with – with – that girl is the same."

Brittany sighs, "It's not. It's not the same. It's very, very different. When I'm with her," Brittany pauses and shakes her head, "I can't even explain it."

"It's probably better if you don't," his fists are clenched. "Look at me and tell me that you love her more than you once loved me, then I'll believe you."

Brittany thinks for a moment. She hasn't even thought of that. Love. Santana. All she knew was that she was comfortable with her, she wanted to spend all her time with her. She loved her scent, she loved her voice, she loved the energy that radiated from her. She wanted to be with her for… forever. She loved everything about her. That's all she knew. Finally realizing it, she understood what all those feelings were. She loved her. She loved Santana. Not only did she love her, she was _in love_ with her. She looks up at Cody, his face turning confident that she's taking so long to answer. "I do, I love her. I love her more than anything I've ever loved before." She shakes her head and looks away, "I'm sorry, Cody. It's over between us like it has been for the past couple of years."

His face drops and anger takes over, "No, I don't accept that."

"You have to."

"The cat. It's the damn cat isn't it? If I didn't give her away, things would be different wouldn't it?" Cody is getting desperate and kneels down in front of Brittany, grabbing her arms tightly.

"Cody, stop it. No. It has nothing to do with the cat. It was over a long time ago. Please, can you take me back to the hotel now?" Brittany says firmly, finally regretting the decision to let Cody drive her somewhere relatively secluded.

Brittany had once trusted Cody with her life. She knew that he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Sure, he had a temper, but he never physically harmed her. He was, for the most part, good to her. But what she's seeing now. What the pressure in his hands gripping tightly against her arms tells her is that he's a different man now. He isn't able to accept the truth and he's getting far more aggressive than she has ever seen him.

Cody lets go of her and stands back up. His fists are still clenched and his eyes are burning into her. She can't find the man she had once loved long ago. He's no longer there.

He takes in a deep breath to calm himself, "Fine. Whatever." They get back into the car and he slams his door. He drives quickly back to the hotel. Once they arrive, Cody parks off by the side of the hotel. Under a large tree. Brittany looks over at Cody knowing that it's completely over between them. Not lovers, not even friends. It's as if they no longer know each other anymore. Brittany opens the door and is about to hop out. "Wait!" Cody shouts out and gets out of the car as fast as he can and runs over to Brittany's side. "Can I – Can I just get a hug goodbye?"

Hesitantly, Brittany nods and lifts her arms out. He goes in for the hug but as he does he steps in closer as she gets pushed up against the car door and he leans heavily into her.

"Cody, what are you doing? Stop!"

"I just – last time, I need to," he says quickly and takes her face in his hands and before she can even react or turn her head he pulls her face in and kisses her hard. Cody is strong and his grip is firm on her face.

Brittany's eyes open wide and with all her strength she breaks the hold he has on her face by pushing his arms downward and shoves him back as hard as she can, "I said stop it!" she yells out as he stumbles backwards, stepping on a large stone some kids probably left there and falls onto the ground. "No more, Cody. We're done." She shakes her head and turns to walk back towards the front entrance of the hotel.

"Fine! I hope you're happy with that dyke and since you're stupid enough to leave, don't you ever come running back to me!"

Brittany stops dead in her tracks, fists clenched at his words. She feels a chill run through her body as her face burns with hurt and rage and she's doing all she can to not punch his lights out because even that won't be enough. She can't seem to find any words that correspond with her feelings so she just continues to walk. She walks as calmly as she can back to the hotel, through the sliding doors and straight to the elevator doors. Not saying the usual 'hi' to all the agents at the front desk. She presses the button to her floor. Her body rigid from frustration. Her eyes brimming with tears from his words. She tries to take a few deep breaths to calm herself. She tries her best to shake off her tenseness in her body. She stands in front of the door, holding the key and closes her eyes. She swallows and takes in another deep breath and slides the key in. She opens the door and hears that Santana is taking a shower. She's singing in the shower and she feels her body calm down immediately. She begins to strip down her clothes, Santana's voice is mesmerizing and she just wants to go towards the source of the sound. When she's completely naked, she walks quietly towards the washroom and pushes open the door oh so gently. Opening the curtain, Santana quickly turns with her eyes wide open and covering her chest.

"Ohmygosh, Britt. You scared the hell out of me. You're back so early." Brittany doesn't say anything and steps into the shower, joining her girlfriend. One look into Brittany's eyes and Santana knows something is wrong. "What's wrong?" Brittany just steps closer to Santana and drops her forehead onto Santana's shoulder. Water running over her head and down her body. Santana wraps her arms around her, stroking her back gently. "What's wrong, Brittany?" Brittany just shakes her head and keeps her eyes closed trying to absorb Santana into her through touch. Trying to calm her body. Trying to wash away all of Cody's final words to her. "Okay, okay, you don't need to say anything," Santana says gently and quietly as she hugs Brittany tighter. Both of them standing under the warm shower raining above them. Brittany allows a few tears seep through and they fall on Santana's shoulder, mixing with the water from the shower. They stand there until the water begins to run colder and Santana moves her hands from Brittany's back and onto her arms. "Hey," Santana whispers. Brittany looks up, and even though Santana knew Brittany had been crying, she felt it on her shoulder, her girlfriend's tears feel different from regular shower water; her red eyes confirmed it. "Let's get out of here before we catch a cold, okay?"

Brittany nods and the two of them slip out of the shower after Santana turns the water off and she grabs a towel wrapping Brittany into it before wrapping one around herself. Santana quickly but gently dries her girlfriend off.

"Go get dressed and I'll be right out, okay?" Santana asks, trying to look into Brittany's eyes. The eyes that are more grey than blue at the moment. Brittany nods and walks out into the bedroom to grab some clothes to sleep in; a t-shirt and underwear.

A couple minutes later, Santana walks out and sees Brittany sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for her. Santana joins her and sits next to her, wrapping her right arm around her waist. Brittany puts her head on Santana's shoulder. They sit there in silence. Santana knows Brittany wants to talk, so she encourages her. She kisses Brittany on the top of her head and scoots as close to her as she can. "Talk to me, Britt."

Brittany lets out a deep sigh, "He's a jerk."

Santana nods and Brittany feels it on top of her head. "What happened?" Santana urges, wanting to understand why her girlfriend has come back so broken and hurt.

Brittany sits up and leans her elbows onto her own knees. Santana's hand not leaving her girlfriend's back. "We talked, and I thought he would understand. We used to be able to have conversations and he would understand but he just got mad. He got so angry, Santana."

"Did he hurt you?" Santana asks panicked, checking Brittany for any bruises or cuts.

"No," Brittany rubs her hand over Santana's thigh to calm her. "Not physically, no. He didn't seem to understand why I didn't want him anymore. I told him I was in lo… that I was with you and that I was going to continue being with you, and nothing was going to change that. Then he talked about the cat and how it's because he gave away the cat, but I told him it wasn't. I told him that we were over long before that. Then I asked him to drive me home because I knew the conversation was finished, I had nothing else to say to him. Then…" Brittany pauses. Santana takes her hand off Brittany's back and pushes the blonde damp hair behind her ear. "Then when I got out of the car he asked me for a goodbye hug."

Santana's hand stops and retreats back to her own lap, afraid of what Brittany will say next. "Ok…"

"So, I figured, okay. Last hug, sure, but then…"

"But then?"

"He kissed me," Brittany says quickly. Santana takes in a sharp painful breath. Her heart racing double time. Brittany looks up at her and takes Santana's right hand in both of her own. "I couldn't stop him in time, San. I'm sorry. He had such a tight grip on my face, but once I felt his lips on mine I knocked his arms down and pushed him. San, I didn't kiss him back. I promise. I'm sorry. I couldn't stop him. I didn't know." Brittany's voice was panicked and pained; full of worry and apologies. "Please don't be mad, Santana. He was so fast and –"

Santana places a gentle hand on Brittany's cheek to still her words, "It's okay, Britt. It's okay. I trust you." Santana strokes Brittany's cheek with her thumb assuring her that everything is okay, "Then what happened?"

Brittany takes in another breath, "When I pushed him, he fell and then he got even more angry. I've never seen him like this before. It was scary. Then… " Brittany's eyebrows furrow and Santana can see that she's holding something in but waits for her to continue. "Then he said that he hopes I'm happy with… well… he called you a…"

"Bitch?"

Brittany shakes her head.

"Dyke?"

Brittany nods, not looking at her girlfriend.

"That's okay, Britt. He's not the first asshole to call me that, keep going."

"He called you… that… and then he said that if I'm stupid enough to leave to never go running back to him." Brittany's expression doesn't change. She keeps looking at the space where the carpet meets the wall. Her eyebrows pinched tight. She blinks a few times as if she's trying to understand his words. "Then I left."

Santana's heart fills with ice and her head is running on horrible thoughts on how to destroy the man that called her girl 'stupid'. She quickly kneels in front of Brittany and takes her hands in her own. "Oh Britt, you can't listen to him. Everything he said was fueled by hate and anger. He wanted to make you mad to get a reaction out of you. He wanted to hurt you back because he was feeling hurt. But what he says isn't true."

A single tear drops from each one of Brittany's eyes onto her lap. Santana lets go of one of their hands and wipes the tears that are threatening to fall. "He could be right, I mean. He's not the only person to –"

"No!" Santana interjects firmly "No, he's not right. He was being a prick, Brittany. He was just trying to hurt you."

"But…" Brittany starts but gets cut off by Santana again.

"Brittany," She says, this time softer and gentler. Brittany looks up. "Do you want to be with me?"

Brittany nods violently, "Of course I do."

"Will you ever go running back to him?"

Brittany changes the direction of her head, shaking it, "No. No way. Never."

"Then there you have it. Leaving him, leaving a man that you have no feelings for and have no intention of going back to, is the right thing to do. Leaving a man that guilt trips you and tries to force kisses onto you is the smart thing to do. Besides," Santana smirks, "Why would you want to go back to him when you have all of this waiting for you to get home?" Santana gestures to herself causing Brittany to smile. "There's the smile I love so much."

Brittany smiles wider as Santana leans in and gives her a kiss. A soft, lingering kiss.

"Thanks," Brittany mumbles out.

"Are you going to be okay?" Santana asks, rubbing Brittany's thighs with the palms of her hands.

"Yeah, I'll be okay." Brittany stands up and Santana follows. They both lean in at the same time giving each other a tight hug. Santana promising Brittany that she has her always, and Brittany thanking Santana for being her rock.

"'Are you shooting tomorrow?" Santana asks as they break apart from the hug.

"No, I have a rehearsal with Vic and a few other guys in the morning, but I should be finished by noon, 1 at the latest. Then I'm all yours." Brittany takes Santana's hand and kisses her knuckles. "Then I have a shoot the next day at around 10, want to come?"

"Wanky," Santana lets out in a seductive tone.

Brittany grabs Santana by the waist and spins quickly, lifting the shorter brunette with ease then tackling her onto the bed; Brittany on top of her, grabbing her arms and pinning it above her head. "Say that again."

"Wanky," Santana whispers this time.

Brittany mouth hits Santana's hard, pulling her into a heated and deep kiss. "I love," Brittany pauses and hesitates after she pulls away from the kiss, "I love the fact that you're here, San. I love that I get to spend so much time with you." Brittany's eyes are pricing into Santana's, as if trying to convey deeper words.

"I love it too," Santana says, staring just as deep into the eyes that have turned from faded grey back to blue.

"When do you have to go back?," Brittany says as she leans her head down to rest on Santana's chest.

"They're supposed to send me a copy of the script during the final week of this month and we start shooting the week after I think. That gives me another week and a half here. You should be done around then right?"

Brittany nods against Santana's chest, "Yeah, maybe we can fly out together?" Brittany looks up at her girlfriend hopefully.

Santana strokes her soft damp blonde hair with her fingertips, "Absolutely. If our schedules match, absolutely." There's a slight pause and Brittany snuggles closer into her. "Britt?"

"Hm?"

"Do you have to rehearse with Cody tomorrow too?"

Santana can feel Brittany's eyes open, "Yah."

Santana lets out a long sigh, "You don't have a choice do you?"

Brittany shakes her head, "nope"

"I just - I don't trust him."

"I'll be okay. I don't think he'll do anything to hurt me… physically. Besides, there are so many other people there. He won't do anything."

"Okay."

Brittany lets out a breath. She doesn't say anything and it gives Santana a terrified feeling. Working with someone you don't trust so closely brings a fearful feeling that hits too close to home.

They lie there in comfortable silence for a while. Brittany snuggled up and resting on Santana's chest, listening to her heart beat while Santana strokes her hair. Santana's eyes begin closing as she feels the weight of Brittany fall deeper into her.

"Britt," Santana murmurs into Brittany's hair as she gives her a kiss atop her head.

"Mmm," Brittany manages to breathe out.

"Let's brush up and get into bed."

Brittany drags herself up with closed eyes as Santana guides her into the washroom so she can brush her teeth.

That night, they fall asleep in each other's arms back into their original positions of the night – Brittany on Santana's chest needing the comfort of hearing her heartbeat. Santana falls asleep thinking of ways to tell Brittany she loves her. She has never told anyone she's loved them before (except for her parents when she was much much younger), but never in a relationship has she told anyone shes loved them, and this scared her. Scared her because she has never let anyone into that part of her before. Into her heart.

* * *

The next morning, Santana woke up to her phone going off. She blindly reaches over to her night table and fumbles around finally grabbing a hold of it. Without looking at the caller ID she clears her throat and answers, "'lo?"

"Morning, babe."

'Britt?" Santana says sleepily and confused. She looks over to the other side of the bed, empty. Then she looks at the time. 9:15am.

"I knew you were still asleep. Thought I'd wake you up and say hi. Also, because I missed you and wanted to hear your voice. I was just going to leave a voicemail."

"No, no, it's okay. I should get up anyways. What time did you leave? I didn't feel you get up."

"I learned to move around like Lord Tubbington, super quiet and stealthy. Didn't want to wake you up. I left at 6"

Santana laughed at the thought of Lord T moving around in a quiet and stealthy manner, every time she saw him he moved around like a giant blob shaped like a cat. _I guess blobs are quiet._ She thinks to herself.

"Oh gosh, 6? Thank you for not waking me up. Are you on your break?"

"Yup!"

"How's everything with…" Santana trails off.

Brittany lowers her voice, "He seems okay, I think. He's just quiet and he's taking to Jason and Adam a lot today. Keeping to themselves most of the time when they're not rehearsing. But other than that, he's been doing everything he needs to. He's been catching me when it's his turn to."

"Catching you?" Santana asked surprised.

"Yeah, there's a part where I have to stumble back after getting pushed and fall off a low patio like, only about 3 to 5 feet and he catches me."

Just the thought of all that sends shivers up Santana's back, "Okay, just… just be careful okay?"

"Always,"

In the background, Santana hears a voice, "Stop chitchatting with your lovergirl, Britt, I need you to do fight scene 4 with me again." Then the voice gets louder, "Hey, Santana. Gotta steal your girl from you now."

Santana can tell who it is by the voice, "Hey Vic. Sure thing."

"Ta-ta," Vic says and hands the phone back to Brittany. Santana swears she can see him sway his hips as he walks away.

"Sorry, San. I gotta go," Brittany laughs out.

"Call me when you're done?"

"Yup!"

"Be careful," Santana says again.

"Yes maam. Bye, babe."

"Bye."

Santana washes up and feels herself getting hungry. She decides to go to the cafe down the street from the hotel since their coffee is the best and figures she can grab a muffin and a brownie for brittany while she's there.

Santana walks into the coffee shop and waits in line while checking out the goodies in the display case. When it's her turn, she notices the same girl, Dani, is working and whispers something to the cashier. The cashier turns to glance at Santana, smiles, then nods as Dani walks away to make the previous order. Santana orders herself a medium blonde again and a banana loaf for herself, and a brownie with sprinkles for Brittany. She takes out her wallet and the cashier holds out her hand to stop her.

"This order is on the house," the girl says with a smile and glances at Dani who nods slightly while continuing to mix a smoothie for the another customer.

"Oh what? No, it's okay, I can pay," Santana says when she feels like other eyes are watching her. Other snoopy customers wondering why their drink weren't on the house.

"It's already been paid for, please wait over there for your orders, Miss," the cashier insists.

Santana puts her money away and thanks the cashier as she waits in line for her drink.

"One banana bread loaf, brownie, and medium blonde for Santana," Dani calls out.

Santana reaches for the items, "You didn't have to," Santana begins.

"My pleasure. It's nice to see you around. Please come again," Dani says with a smile as she turns to make another drink.

With a smile, Santana thanks her again and leaves the shop with the banana loaf and brownie in one hand and the coffee in another. She's sipping on her coffee on the way out and takes a few bites of her loaf as she walks back to the hotel.

As soon as she gets in, she sets her coffee down and starts flipping through the magazines she bought at the airport. Looking at all the beautiful dresses and gowns celebrities are wearing these days. When she finishes her coffee, she dumps the cup in the garbage can and grabs a bottle of water to finish her loaf. Her phone chimes indicating she has a new text.

 _From Rachel: Santana, I have some tickets to the opening show of Wicked and I was wondering if you were interested in coming to see it. You can bring your friend if you want. I have extra tickets. It will be opening in June. Accommodation is paid for, just pay for your own flight._

To Rachel: Congrats! They finally recognized you to be the witch that you are. I would love to go and I'll ask Brittany later on tonight. Save me a seat.

 _From Rachel: Thought maybe you could learn something from even the wickedest of witches. Thanks for the support._

After Santana gets in a good eye roll from Rachel's response, Brittany calls.

"Hey Britt-Britt."

" _Hey San, I'm just packing up my stuff and I'm gonna come back to the hotel so we can grab something to eat. I'm starved. I was thinking - "_

"Eggs?" Santana interrupts.

"You sure know me well, hun. Will be back in 20 minutes."

They say their goodbyes and Santana waits patiently for her girlfriend to return. Already excited to see her again. Damn she has become one of _those_ girls. But she's okay with it, because she is _that_ happy.

* * *

20 minutes later, Brittany and Santana meet in the hotel lobby and they go to an all-day breakfast diner where Brittany orders eggs, bacon and pancakes, and Santana orders a french toast with strawberry toppings and whipped cream. Brittany constantly taking Santana's whipped cream for her own pancakes.

"What did you do while I was rehearsing?" Brittany asks as she salts her eggs.

"Went to that coffee shop and got a coffee and oh, I almost forgot, I got you a brownie with sprinkles!" Santana says with a big smile on her face.

Brittany matches that smile and sighs, "You should know the way to my heart is through eggs and sprinkles" she winks.

"Hopefully not at the same time," Santana says.

"Everything goes well with sprinkles," Brittany deadpans.

Santana smiles and nods, "Of course. My bad," Brittany nods at Santana's agreeance and continues to eat. "How was rehearsals?" Santana asks while cutting off a bite of french toast and taking a sip of coffee.

"Pretty good. I told Vic what was going on after he started prying. He said Cody and I were acting weird. So I thought I might as well tell him the truth. Things with Cody is about the same. He's not talking to me but he's doing everything the director is telling him. So, he's being professional about it " Brittany shrugs. "But I think Jason is saying things behind my back and it's not helping the situation. Probably making things worse."

"I don't trust him," Santana says. "Any of them. Cody, or Jason, or Adam. The way they looked at me the other day and the things they said… It makes me worry that you have to work with them."

"I'll be okay, San. Even if I haven't really worked too closely with Adam or Jason, they seem professional enough. Immature, maybe, but professional."

"I hope so," Santana says. Still feeling uneasy about the whole thing. Something about this makes her heart ache and she doesn't know why. But she decides to let it go. "I got a message from Rachel today." She changes the subject before she worries herself to death. "She asked if you wanted to see her opening show on Broadway. She's in Wicked"

"Really? She invited me?" Brittany asks with a smile.

"Well, she said I could bring my 'friend' and you're the only friend I talk about, so I assume it's you," Santana winks.

"I would love to. Do we get to go to New York together?" Brittany jumps up and down in her sear.

Santana smirks, "I guess so." She pauses, "Brittany, would you like to go to New York with me?"

"I would love to, San!" Brittany claps her hand and does a little dance in her seat and Santana watches her girlfriend's body move with ease. "Can I ask you a question though?" Brittany asks.

"Sure!"

"Like, I know you and Rachel have history and you let her stay at your apartment, even though you made it hard for her, and now she's inviting you to watch her show on Broadway, are you guys friends? I'm confused."

"I like to think we are, We…" Santana thinks for a moment. "We grew kind of competitive with each other in high school. Like I told you before, I was a bitch to her and she was a bitch to me. Constantly taking any solo she could, even Mercedes started getting annoyed. She was good though. She was damn good. We bicker back and forth and I found her and her lady gay - um, Kurt - super annoying when they started to sense that I was gay. I wasn't ready to admit it so I wasn't accepting the fact that they were able to see it. Kurt was out and proud and Rachel was totally supporting since she has two gay dads. She was basically the spokesperson for all that was fabulous in high school. Kurt had a talk with me and told me that they will support me, the whole choir would support me if I came out and that everything would be better if I did. I was upset with him because I wasn't even admitting it to myself that time. Then there was this lesson we had to do and we had to choose songs for each other to sing and Rachel chose Born This Way for me and Kurt agreed, in front of the whole class. I was embarrassed and pissed off and stormed out. I know they were trying to make things better for me and yeah, that song was a hit at the time so it wasn't like anyone would really come to that conclusion, but I was paranoid. So, even though I'm out and proud now, the way I acted towards them since that day was pretty harsh. I was pretty mean. They apologized numerous times but I never accepted it. I kind of fell into the habit of being mean to them even if I don't mean to be. They know now that it's unintentional and I don't mean all the bad things I say so they take it with a grain of salt. They know I support them now and they know I've accepted the fact that they belong on the stage, and I belong on the screen. That's why they never really fight back when I call them names; I think they're used to it." Santana takes in a deep breath and realizes that Brittany had finished her meal, set her fork and knife to the side and is now holding her hand. She gives Brittany a gracious smile.

"Wow, it really was hard for you at school," Brittany says sympathetically.

"It was. I had a bad reputation, and a badass reputation."

"Well, I for one am glad you're out now, because now I get to be your girlfriend."

"Damn right you do."

They take a walk after lunch, walking hand in hand window shopping and stopping by parks on their way back to the hotel.

Brittany gets a text and rushes to her laptop once they get back into their room, "Come here, San." Brittany pats her knee and Santana sits down. Brittany opens up skype.

"Woah, Britt. What are you doing? Who are you making me skype with? This is way too early in our relationship to… I'm nervous. I've never met parents before. What do I say? I can't," Santana struggles to get out of Brittany's lap but Brittany is hugging her so tightly from behind, she's unable to stand up on time and an image appears on the screen. Santana quickly turns her head and faces Brittany's shoulder so her own face wouldn't appear on screen.

"Hi, boo," Brittany says. This causes Santana to look up right away. Who the heck is Brittany calling 'Boo?' "Remember Santana? She's here with me. Say hi to Santana don't be rude. I know you wanted to come too, but she bought her own ticket here, and you didn't do that. I'm still mad by the way."

Lord Tubbington. Santana gives out a chuckle and waves at the cat with her fingers. "Hi," she says quietly.

Lord Tubbington purrs and sits there looking into the screen. His tail swaying back and forth randomly. "Remember what I told you about her, Lord T? Remember how I told you I wanted her to be my girlfriend? Well, guess what? She said yes!" Brittany gives Santana a kiss on her shoulder before smiling again into the camera. Lord Tubbington licks his paw.

"What?!" a voice on the other side of the screen shrieks out and the camera turns to face a younger girl, also blonde but her eyes are more green than blue. Her features resemble Brittany a little bit, but she has a rounder face than her older sister. "You told your cat about a girl and didn't tell me?"

"Well, he's met her before and you haven't," she shrugs, "Besides, I wasn't sure what was going to happen so I didn't want to say anything until it did. Christy, meet Santana. Santana, this is my baby sister, Christy."

"Younger sister, not baby. Nice to meet you, finally."

"Hi Christy," Santana says with a wave.

Brittany and Christy talk for a bit before Christy lets Brittany chat with Lord Tubbington again. She makes sure he is behaving well while she's away and that she will buy him some nice California cat toys for him.

With that, they say their goodbyes (Lord Tubbington got bored and decided it was time to wander off), and Brittany shuts off the laptop. Hugging Santana from behind, she nuzzles her face in the crook of her neck. "You smell good," Brittany murmurs.

Santana leans back into her girlfriend's embrace then turns her head as Brittany pulls away then leans back in to attach their lips together.

"Thank you for introducing me to your sister," Santana says as their kiss breaks, "I've never been introduced to a family member before… as a girlfriend."

"Well, I'm proud," Brittany beams, "So proud to call you mine."

Santana leans in for another kiss, but this time she deepens it. They have a little make out session on the office chair before deciding on a place to have dinner. Brittany goes over her choreography she practiced today while Santana watches the food network and, from the corner of her eye, Brittany. The way Brittany moves always amazes the Latina. She can't take her eyes off of her whenever she's practicing.

* * *

When the night dwindles down, they lay in bed after a couple rounds of sex, initiated by Santana jumping the blonde when she was doing her nightly stretches. Brittany ends up falling asleep in Santana's arms. Santana proud of herself for being able to wear Brittany down; that girl has stamina. As Santana lays there with her girlfriend nuzzled into her neck, comfortable and relaxed; a wave of uncertainty flows through her. Not about the beautiful girl in her arms, no – she is something Santana is absolutely sure of. She feels uncomfortable about tomorrow. Tomorrow, Brittany is supposed to work with Cody. She just feels uneasy about it considering what happened between the two a couple nights ago. She takes a deep breath. _Brittany's got to do what Brittany's got to_ do she thinks to herself as she closes her eyes and forces herself to fall asleep.

* * *

I know I've been updating later. I'm still pretty behind on my writing. Slowly but surely new chapters WILL be released.

Comments? Reviews? Please be kind.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Ugh, I noticed how many typos and errors I had in the last chapter. I'm so sorry. I've been having a difficult time editing lately. I apologize. I hope this one is better. Thank you for your continued support.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

Santana is woken up by kisses on her forehead. This is the way she's always meant to wake up. One of the few ways she actually wakes up with a smile on her face instead of a grumpy caffeine deficient mess. She slowly opens her eyes and sees Brittany with a smile on her face. She is kneeling on the floor at the edge of the bed; bright blue eyes welcoming the morning. She has obviously finished washing up and is done with the bathroom before waking up her "not so morning welcomy" girlfriend.

"Good morning, beautiful," Brittany says in a soft tone.

"Morning," Santana says as she puckers up for her good morning kiss, which Brittany happily obliges.

"You have 30 minutes to get ready, is that okay?" Brittany asks after they part.

"Yeah, I'll get up now," Santana breathes out and slowly drags herself out of bed.

Once Santana is ready, the girls head out to the coffee shop so Santana can get her fix. Brittany gets a phone call and decides to take it outside while Santana waits in line. _The people of Los Angeles really love their coffee_ , she thinks to herself. _I belong here, these are my people._ She reaches the front of the line and orders her regular and a hot chocolate for Brittany, along with two croissants.

"It's nice seeing you this early in the morning," a voice from the other side of the counter states.

As Santana puts her card back into her wallet she looks up and Dani is standing there with her hands on the counter smiling at her.

"Oh hi, yes. I'm going to work with my girlfriend today and it's pretty damn early for me for sure but I'm excited to see my girl in action," Santana replies while she grabs the paper bag filled with the croissants and waits for the drinks to be made.

As Dani pours her coffee, she's clearly disappointed, "No wonder you didn't call me."

"Call you? What do you mean?" Santana asks with a furrow of her brows.

"Last time you came in, I wrote a note on your cup," Dani says as she slides a sleeve on Santana's cup and hands it to her.

"Did you? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't even see it. What did you write?"

"Oh nothing, just thought –" She pauses to think while she finishes adding the milk to the hot chocolate and gives it a stir, "I just thought we could be friends or something. You look new in town and I thought I could show you around."

"Yeah, friends is cool. I'm down to have friends," Santana says with a smile keeping her end of the conversation open so as not to mislead Dani in anyway. Santana looks out the glass door and sees Brittany still on the phone; she turns back to face Dani. "I was hoping she would come in so you can meet her too, but I guess she's still tied up." Dani seems great. She seems nice but Santana knows they probably won't be friends. She already has a hard enough time keeping up with the friends she already has and she knows she won't even be here much longer, but that doesn't mean she has to be so blunt and rude about it – she's trying to be a nicer person.

"Here's my number, feel free to call me if you're bored. If your girl is too busy or something. If not, you know where to find me," Dani says with a wink.

"Umm… okay. Yeah, sure thanks! See ya," Santana says as she takes the paper with Dani's number on it and slips it into her jean pocket knowing for a fact that she won't be calling her anytime soon. She grabs the bag and two drinks and heads out the door.

Once she pushes the glass door open Brittany is there with folded arms; one hand gripping her cellphone and a serious look on her face.

"I got you a hot chocolate and a croissant for later," Santana notices the seriousness of Brittany's face, "What's wrong? Who called?"

Brittany looks down at the cup being handed to her and grabs it while exhaling a breath, "Nothing, that was just Vic telling me about some moves he wants to work on. Who's that?"

"Who's who?"

"That girl behind the counter making googly eyes at you. That same girl that was all up in your space last time we were here."

"Oh that? The barista? That's Dani. She figured out that I'm kinda new around here so she offered to show me around town," Santana says with a shrug.

"You mean she offered _herself_ to you," Brittany mumbles.

"Woah – woah – woah there Britt. What are you talking about?"

"She was obviously flirting with you, San. The way she looks at you, I even saw her slip you her number." Brittany turns to look at her. The seriousness portrayed in Brittany's eyes were something Santana saw seldom of. Her eyes speak for her so often, and it's usually filled with happiness and positivity. Now, it's filled with concern and confusion.

"She – well, she did, but that's so I could contact her if I wanted her to show me the city," Santana takes the folded paper out of her pocket and throws it out in the nearest trash bin. "It's not like I was really going to call her anyways, and the flirting? She's – no. I don't – I don't even know if she's gay."

"Does she know you are?"

"Of course she does – " Brittany's huff cuts her off. Santana grabs a hold of Brittany's arm to stop her from walking, "Britt, stop." Brittany looks at their arms and her eyes are full of concentration, like she's thinking deeply about something. "Of course she knows I'm a lesbian, I told her I had a girlfriend, that's how she knows."

Brittany looks up at her, her eyes more relaxed than they were not 20 seconds ago. "I'm sorry, San. I'm sorry I got that way, she's just. I mean, she's pretty and stuff and you see her often since they have the best coffee and she always seems to be there." She looks down at the floor.

Santana stands on her tip toes and gives Brittany a kiss on the cheek. Once Brittany looks up, she gives her another kiss on the lips. "Brittany, I didn't fly two thousand miles to meet her or make new friends. I don't go to the coffee shop to see her. I don't tell her I have a girlfriend to make her jealous. I came here for you, I get coffee for me _and_ hot chocolates for you, and I tell her I have a girlfriend because I – because I have you and you're all I want. Just you. I don't have to get coffee here anymore, I'm sure there is good coffee elsewhere."

Brittany gives a small smile and nods, "Yeah, I know," she begins to shake her head again as if to shake out all the negative thoughts. "I'm sorry I acted like a crazy jealous monster. I don't want to be that person who doesn't want their partner to have friends. You don't have to stop coming here. Their coffee is good and so are the hot chocolates, and pastries. I'm just overreacting."

"It's no big deal, Britt. I really don't care if I see her again."

"No, you're right. It's no big deal meaning I don't mind us coming back, but she better not hit on you again. Your hot ass is mine," Brittany says with a wink.

Santana wraps her arms around her girlfriend, "I'm sorry again. I should probably be more observant. Usually I'm busy looking at the baked goods in the glass case or thinking of how cute you look when you're drinking your hot chocolate to really pay attention to what others are saying or doing. But I guess the free coffee she gave me was a dead giveaway; I just thought it was a nice gesture, didn't think anything of it."

Brittany rolls her head towards Santana and stares at her with an obvious expression on her face, "Seriously, she bought you coffee and you didn't realize what her intentions were?"

Santana shrugs and looks down, "I'm sorry – I didn't think – I didn't realize – wow, I'm sorry Britt," her eyes go wide as if she just had her mind blown, "I guess, I guess I didn't care enough to think about it? Damn, you must think I'm so stu –"

"Don't say it," Brittany says seriously.

"Sorry."

"Stop apologizing, baby. I understand, I do," She sighs and thinks, "I really do like their hot chocolate. Let's go there together next time."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Brittany links their fingers together and kisses Santana's thumb before giving her a warm smile.

* * *

The girls walk into the studio and greet a few members of the cast and crew. Everyone loves Brittany and now most of them love Santana too. They all think they look super adorable together and most of them tell them so. Well, almost everyone. As they walk towards the back of the studio they notice that breakfast was catered today. The table is full of donuts, bagels, fresh fruit, cereals, breakfast loaves, and granola. Brittany grabs herself a bowl of granola and some fruit for Santana. They sit on the seats situated in the back so Santana is out of the way during filming. They chat about what stunts Brittany was supposed to do today and what they were going to do after she was done for the day.

"Brittany! You're up!" A girl calls out from outside the door on the side of the building.

"I gotta do an outfit fitting now, can you hold this? You can grab whatever you want from the breakfast line, it's open to anyone in the studio," Brittany says as she hands Santana her cup and turns to head towards the doors where they have a trailer set up for hair, make-up, and wardrobe.

Santana sits there sipping her coffee and eating her fruit while scrolling through her phone. People are bustling around moving lights and sets. The director is talking and pointing at spots on the floor to be marked and the camera crew is shuffling around to get into proper position.

"Hey, Santana!"

Santana looks up at the man in front of her, "Hey, Vic. Are you in Brittany's scene today?"

"I am, but I'm only in the background. Brittany is doing all the hard work today. How are you?"

"I'm good," Santana replies, "Not used to waking up this early, but I'm good."

"Feel free to grab some more coffee over there on the table if you're still tired, or even some food. You may be bored until the action actually starts, which won't be for another hour or so," Vic says as he motions towards the breakfast buffet.

"Are you sure? I don't just want to help myself if I don't work here."

"I'm positive. Everyone here knows you're here with Brittany. Whenever anyone brings in a guest or significant other, they fill themselves on whatever free food we have, there's always a lot."

"Thanks, I think I will."

"No problem, I should check on my wardrobe now too. It's nice seeing you again, Santana."

"You too, Vic."

Vic leaves out the doors Brittany had left through a 20 minutes ago and Santana heads towards the table and pours herself another cup of coffee.

"That coffee is for employees only and you're not cast _or_ crew."

Santana knows exactly whose voice that is and a fury of animosity rises in her body as she turns around.

"Cody, so nice to see you again," She says with as much of a smile as she can muster.

"You can't take that coffee," Cody spit out bitterly.

"Says who?" Santana questions him with a tilt of the head.

"Says me," He grabs Santana's wrist; the one holding the cup and coffee splashes over the edge.

"Let go of me!"

"Put it down!"

"What the heck is going on here?" A voice behind the two announces, "Cody, what the hell are you doing? Let go of her!" Cody lets go just as Brittany pulls him away. She's wearing a dark pink tank top, a leather jacket, blue jeans, and converse shoes. Her hair is done up in a high pony with a braid on one side. Cody looks between the two of them and storms off. Santana puts her cup down and quickly picks up a napkin and wipes down her wrist from the spilled coffee. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Santana mumbles as she cleans off her bracelet that the coffee seeped into.

"What happened?" Brittany asks as she takes another napkin and wipes the spill off the table.

"Nothing. He didn't want me having any coffee, apparently. He said it's for employees only." She scrunches up the napkin and tosses it into the trash.

"That's a lie, Santana. Everyone knows everything on this table is for anyone here. He's just being a jerk, I'm sorry," Brittany says as she throws her napkin into the trash as well.

"Don't be, and I know. Vic told me the same thing when you were changing. I figured he was doing it, just because. Don't worry about me though, you need to get to work, I think those guys are waiting for you," Santana nods over to a group of 3 men and another woman standing in a semi-circle looking over at Brittany as they talk.

"Oh, they're just waiting for me to do the group stretch. Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine, Britt. Don't worry about me."

Brittany gives her a tight lipped smile and grabs her hand giving it a squeeze before letting go and heading towards the group to start their stretches. A few moments later, Vic, Cody, and Jason join the group. Santana looks at her coffee. She's suddenly not in the mood for coffee and dumps it into the trash. She sits down on the chair, crosses her legs, and watches as everyone keeps themselves busy.

Brittany is stretching out her hamstrings chatting with the other girl and Vic while Cody and Jason are talking. Brittany and her group are doing some shoulder stretches to finish off before they start walking through the choreography. Brittany first does a little battle with the other brunette that's around her height but has a larger build. Then she does running side kick towards another man (Santana has already forgotten the name of) and a back kick towards the other guy holding a knife - a fake knife. Santana had made sure she asked Brittany about any weapons they could possibly be using on set and Brittany had to promise that all of them were fake and safe. After that kick Vic was in the background fighting another taller, bigger man that ended up pushing Vic back into Brittany. As Brittany stumbled backwards the girl sweeps her from behind where she falls off a platform of about 5 feet and into Cody's arms - who is supposed to be playing the part of her weaker sidekick with a heart of gold. Then she's attacked by Jason. They walk though their moves a few more times before the director calls for the stage to set up and the lights and cameras to be in place. The actors and stunt men and women get their makeup and wardrobe touched up while all that is happening.

Brittany walks by Santana and winks while reaching out her hand. Santana grabs it and their fingers linger before Brittany is dragged away by her teammates. After Brittany leaves out the doors, Santana notices Cody and Jason talking. Hands on their hips and glancing over at the director and at her at times. She shakes her head and goes back to scrolling through her phone.

Moments later, Brittany comes through the doors all fresh again. She jogs towards the Latina and gives her a quick peck on the lips before heading over to the set. Santana smiles at the gesture. She's falling more and more for Brittany every day and she has no idea how that's even possible.

Brittany, Vic, and a few other people are stationed on top of the platform. Cody, Jason, and another other guy are stationed at the bottom. The setup looks like a warehouse with crates and boxes lying everywhere. Ropes, and chains hanging from the ceiling. Concrete flooring with yellow lines.

"Quiet on the set!" The director calls out and everyone is silent. "Action!"

Those on top of the platform start moving. Brittany runs towards the brunette (Jan) attacking her with a right hook which Jan ducks under and throws a backfist at Brittany. Brittany blocks it while countering the attack with a side kick and a spinning hook kick to the head and the girl falls down. In the background, Vic is throwing punches at a larger man. Brittany runs and does a jumping side kick and kicks down the man with the knife.

"Cut!" The director calls out. "Let's do that one more time. Stuart, make your fall more exaggerated when Brittany kicks you and make sure you drop the knife this time."

Stuart nods and they continue. They do this a few more times before the director is satisfied.

Brittany continues and (fake) punches a fallen Stuart in the head a few times before standing up. Just as she's about to pick up the knife and heads back towards Jan who has found her balance again, Vic gets knocked into Brittany.

"Cut!" Vic grabs Brittany's arm and pulls her back towards him quickly, just before Jan sweeps her. "Cody! Jason! Pay attention! What the hell is going on?" The director yells at the two boys.

"Sorry," Cody says. "I'm ready."

"Fine, let's take it from head punch, Brittany are you ready?"

"Yes sir!" She says with pep.

Everyone resets themselves to their previous spots.

"Action!"

Brittany throws some head punches and stands up to pick up the knife and is on her way over to Jan when Vic gets pushed back into Brittany, Jan sweeps and Brittany falls off the platform.

Santana covers her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Cody leans in and catches her.

"Cut!" Everyone looks over to the director except Santana, she's watching her girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend. Cody is hanging on to Brittany tightly and Brittany is slowly trying to out of his grasp. "Cody, please look more urgent, like you're not expecting the fall."

Cody nods and Brittany climbs back on top of the platform.

"Ready. Action!"

They do this scene a few more times. The director getting more and more frustrated at Cody's lack of urgency and energy. He calls for a 5 minute break and Brittany grabs some water while a makeup artist touches up and fixes her hair.

5 minutes later and after a conversation with the director, Cody looks more ready. Jason to his far left eyeing Santana for a few moments while Brittany, Vic, Stuart, Jan, and a few others get set. Jason is saying something to Cody but he just waves him off looking frustrated and semi-zoned out again.

"Action!"

Vic stumbles back into Brittany and Jan sweeps her from behind. Brittany falls off the platform and just as Cody is about to jump into action...

"Cody!" Jason yells.

Cody turns his head just for a split second.

As if it were slow-motion in Santana's eyes. She stands up and reaches a hand out as if she could catch her. Brittany lands on her side with a loud thud on the concrete and for a moment, everything is silent. "Brittany!" Santana screams out and rushes to the set.

"Cut!" The director yells out and everyone rushes to the blonde on the ground.

Vic and the few others on the platform jump off and rush to make sure she's okay. Santana gets to the crowd of people and the first thing she does is shove Cody to the side.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Brittany says as she turns and lies on her back. "Just give me a couple of minutes."

Once she turns around, Santana notices a bright red mark on Brittany's left arm from the impact. "Oh my God, Britt," Santana says as she kneels down next to her girlfriend.

"I'm okay, San. Really."

"Okay people, let's give her some space," a couple of first aid attendants come through the crowd. And everyone disperses except for Santana, Cody, and the assistant director.

One attendant checks Brittany's pulse and skin for any signs of shock and the other checks for any broken bones. Santana's own heart is racing with panic and anger at Cody and Jason. They ask Brittany some questions about pain and to make sure she didn't hit her head, which luckily, she didn't. She was able to sense something was wrong so she was able to catch herself and turn her body so she could catch her own fall as best she could. She would definitely have some bruises and sore muscles later on in the evening. Brittany sits up and Santana's there to support her. Vic comes back with a bottle of water and a towel for Brittany.

"Everybody, take 15," The director calls out. "Cody, Jason, I need to speak with you."

Santana glares at Cody as he gets up to leave with the Director and heads out the doors. "15 minutes? You're not going to do that again, are you?" Santana asks Brittany and then looks up at Vic. Vic and Brittany make eye contact and he bites his lower lip before patting Brittany on the shoulder and leaving the two girls alone. "Britt? Please don't tell me you have to do that again."

"It's part of the job, San. I'm okay," Brittany hesitantly makes eye contact with her girlfriend. "It's what I do."

A single tear runs down Santana's face, "No," she shakes her head, "Please!"

Brittany runs her thumb over Santana's face, wiping the tear drop away, "I'll be okay. I promise. This is the last shot, so once we finish this, we can go back to the hotel."

Santana shakes he head, "I can't watch. I don't… I don't trust him to not do that again, Brittany." Santana's eyes are pleading.

Brittany gives a shrug and shakes her head. She doesn't know how to make her girlfriend feel better, she understands the dangers of her job but she also understands that it's hard to watch the person you're with put themselves through these kinds of dangerous situations. This is why her Mom didn't want her career to be in stunts.

Just then, the director walks in with the two boys on either side of him. Brittany attempts to stand when they walk towards her and Santana quickly jumps on it and helps her up. The director stops to talk to his assistant and then walk the boys out towards the dressing room.

The assistant director walks towards Brittany and calls over Brian and Drew – stunt doubles in training.

"I'm sorry about that, Brittany, it never should have happened. Both Cody and Jason have been asked to leave the studio immediately. We can't have that type of carelessness happen here on our set. That was incredibly unprofessional and irresponsible. Brian here will take over Cody's position and Drew will learn Jason's choreography and do the fight set with Brittany afterwards. Drew, why don't you go over to the choreographer in the blue shorts over there and learn the set, it shouldn't take too long."

Drew nods and jogs over to meet with the choreographer. During this time, Santana's arms are folded over her chest not knowing what to think. Yes, she's glad those two boy are fired. She's glad Brittany doesn't have to work with Cody or Jason anymore. But she still doesn't want to watch Brittany fall off the platform, again. She doesn't think her heart can take it after seeing what she saw.

Santana runs her fingers lightly against Brittany's arm – that's still marked bright pink from the fall. "Britt, I think I'm going to step outside for a bit, is that okay?" She says not taking her eyes off her girlfriend's arm.

Brittany gently grabs a hold of Santana's hand and looks at her own arm in understanding then nods, "Go ahead, San." She takes Santana's hand and brings it to her lips kissing her knuckles gently. Santana looks into the bright blue eyes and gives a small smile; appreciating her girlfriend for not getting mad about her leaving the set.

Santana begins to walk towards the door while Brian gets used to catching Brittany by first lifting her to get used to her weight then catching her half a foot at a time, standing on padded blue mats a few crew members have brought out. Santana is half way to the doors when Cody comes back from the dressing room wearing his street clothes and carrying a backpack. She can't help but glare at him, shooting daggers out of her eyes and pinning them right between his.

He shakes his head at her, "Fucking dyke," he says directly to her and is about to walk past her but Santana steps right into his path.

"What did you call me?"

Cody glares back at her and walks past her, bumping into her with his shoulder causing her to stumble backwards. Right away, Santana grabs the back of his collar and pulls him back hard and he stumbles. "Don't fucking touch me, if you know it's good for you," he grumbles out.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You put Brittany's life in danger and then bitch about the consequences? Grow up, Cody!"

"You're the one who put her life in danger," he scowls.

"What?!" Santana shouts, outraged.

"If it wasn't for you, she would still be with me, and none of this would have happened."

"You have got to be fucking kidding me. You guys are done. Finished. A long time ago. You need to get over it!"

"The bitch got us fucking fired!" Santana hears a voice from behind. She turns her head, Jason is wearing a green vest and a baseball cap, also carrying a backpack. "You made Brittany unfocused," Jason says to Santana with his arms across his chest.

"You made him drop her!" Santana screamed out, pointing at Cody. This time catching the attention of most of the cast and crew members.

"That ought to teach you a lesson about messing with my homie's girl," he says under his breath, but loud enough for both Santana and Cody to hear. "Teach both you bitches a lesson," he adds. The rage that's boiling in Santana's chest couldn't be kept in any longer; she winds up to slap him when Cody grabs her wrist from behind. Jason leans in so his face is only about an inch away from Santana's and shakes his head and smiles, "nuh uh, little cunt. You're not gonna lay a hand on m–"

Jason gets cut off when Brittany appears out of nowhere and pushes his face to the side roughly. She grabs a hold of the collar of his shirt with one hand, "Don't you fucking talk to her like that again," she says calmly as a warning but her body and eyes are not showing any signs of calmness. It's showing anger and fury about to explode. Her muscles tense with fire.

Cody pushes Santana to the side causing her to lose her balance and fall. Her palms hitting the floor forcefully. Brittany turns around quickly swinging her right arm and nailing Cody just on the side of his left eye, he quickly covers it as it starts to water.

"Hey!" Jason calls out and grabs Brittany by the waist just as she was about to approach Cody to give him more of what he deserved.

Brittany lifts her head back quickly smacking the back of her head against Jason's nose. He quickly lets go of her to hold his nose as blood begins to stream down. She turns around and front kicks him with her heel right in the stomach as he stumbles back. She grabs him by the neck, sticks her leg behind his, and trips him backwards; he falls to the ground with a thump. She straddles him, her right leg pinning down his left arm. She reaches up with her left hand and holds down his neck firmly, then winds up a tight fist. Just as she's about release all her fury to his face, someone grabs her arm. She snaps her head to look behind her and suddenly stops. The anger and rage inside of her rapidly subsides as she sees Santana standing there behind her, holding her right arm with both of her own. She turns to look at where she last left Cody and she sees Vic holding him back his left eye quickly turning into a mixture of purple and reddish-brown. Santana pulls on her arm and Brittany quickly stands up to hug her tightly.

"I'm so sorry," Brittany murmurs into Santana's hair. "Did he hurt you? Are you okay?" Brittany releases their hug and check Santana's palms.

"I'm fine, Britt."

Two security guards come rushing in through the doors and stop when they see the mess of people, bloody and bruised. The director points to both Cody and Jason and they get escorted out.

"What the hell happened?" The assistant director asked, "And why didn't you stop when we asked you to, Brittany? We could've handled it more professionally."

"They provoked me and were threatening and harassing Santana. There was no way I would let them do that and… and… when did you try to stop me?" Brittany asked with her face all scrunched up.

"Brittany, all of us were calling for you to stop pretty much right after you ran off in the middle of our conversation," he says.

Brittany looks at Vic for confirmation and he nods sympathetically.

Brittany turns her head to look at Santana who has her arms still wrapped around her right elbow. Santana nods as well, "I heard them right after Cody pushed me over, but you were so enraged and moving so incredibly fast that I couldn't stop you until… well until you paused for those few seconds," Santana validates softly as she runs one hand up and down Brittany's forearm.

"I'm sorry," she looks at Santana then at everyone else standing around her, directing her gaze at Vic then at the directors, "I'm sorry," she repeats louder.

The assistant speaks up, "Brittany, I think we should call it a day. We'll give you a couple days rest while we work on Drew's choreography. We will shoot a few other scenes with Michelle first." (Michelle being the person Brittany is doubling for).

"No, no. I can… I can get this done today, sir," Brittany assures him and takes a step forward.

"I have no doubt that you can, Brittany, but I think it's best for all of us to calm down a little bit. A lot has happened today, especially to you and we think you can use the break."

"A break? Are you… are you firing me?" Brittany asks as tears begin to well in her eyes.

He takes a few quick steps towards the blonde and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Oh no, no, no, Brittany. Of course not. We understand your situation and we just want to give you a few days of rest. And also, if either Cody or Jason decides to file a law-suit against you – we can say we have disciplined you with suspension from the film. When, in fact, you deserve a rest and to heal up," he says the last part a bit quieter.

Brittany nods and looks back up at everyone, "I'm sorry again for losing my cool, I just –" she looks over at Santana, "I just couldn't watch them do that to her and my body just took over. It was in defense mode." She looks back at the rest of the people who were still lingering around and have yet to go back to work, "So… I guess, I'll see you…" she trails off, not knowing how to finish the sentence.

"We'll see you Monday, Brittany. This gives you a few days plus the weekend to relax. Go for a massage or something. Put something on your bruises."

Brittany looks down at her arm and notices that it's starting to turn blue in the middle with a ring of pink still around the edges. Her thigh also bruising up and her hip feeling a bit of a dull pain. She nods, "Thank you." Then she turns to Santana, "I'm going to get changed and then we can go, okay?"

Santana slides her hands down Brittany's arm and links their fingers together, "Okay."

Brittany turns towards the doors as their fingers slowly break apart. As soon as Brittany is out the door Vic approaches Santana as the rest of the people disperse.

"Are you okay?" Vic asks.

"I'm fine. Just maybe a little bruising on the palm and my right knee. Nothing compared to what Brittany went through," She looks down at the small bruise by the bottom of her palm. "It was scary what happened to her."

"You mean the fighting?" Vic asks.

"I mean the falling," She looks up into his eyes. "She could've hurt herself more. She could've hit her head. She could've broken a bone. She could have internal bleeding," her own words bringing fear into her own heart.

"She's going to be fine, Santana. Your girl is strong."

"I know, but… but she's still my girl," she looks towards the doors Brittany had just left through.

"She loves you, you know?" Vic says and Santana snaps her eyes back up to meet his. He's looking her directly in her eyes confirming the seriousness of his words. "I've never seen her so protective of anyone. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen her that angry, ever. Even when she's acting. I can see it when she looks at you, it's totally different than the way she has ever looked at anyone else."

Santana's lips pull upward just slightly and she looks down at the ground to try to control her blush, then looks back at him, "I love her too." Then suddenly, realization hits, "but I haven't told her yet, so, shh!" she puts her palms up as if she was trying to contain the secret.

Vic chuckles and makes a motion to zip his lips shut. He looks up and nods for Santana to turn and as she does, she sees Brittany walking towards her in the clothes she walked in with and she smiles, knowing what Vic is thinking that moment. Love. She told someone she loves Brittany and she feels so good about it, giddy actually. "That look," Vic whispers in her ear. Santana focuses in on Brittany's eyes and she sees it too. The look of love is in there and it's calming, comforting, and it feels so right. She nods for Vic but not taking her eyes off of her girlfriend.

"Whatchu guys talkin' about?" Brittany asks as she approaches them and links her fingers with Santana's.

"Just how awesome you are," Santana says as she goes on her tiptoes and kisses Brittany on the cheek.

"Well, duh," Brittany says as she brushes off her shoulder.

"I'll see you next week, Brittany, you better rest up. You're going to be sore for the next couple of days," Vic says as he steps forward.

Brittany steps in and gives Vic a one armed hug – not letting go of her girlfriend. "Yeah, I can feel it starting to ache already, I can't wait to get back to our room and just lay there.

"Take care, Santana."

"Thanks, you too, Vic."

Vic gives Santana a hug as well, catching her by surprise. Then she wraps one arm around him as well, the way Brittany did. They say their goodbyes and take a taxi back to the hotel – Santana's idea of course. While Brittany insisted she was fine to walk, Santana wanted Brittany to start relaxing as soon as possible. On the ride back to the hotel, Brittany slides down in her seat so she can rest her head on Santana's shoulder. They sit there in silence as Santana thinks of ways to tell her she loves her. She's terrified but she knows it will be worth it.

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Constructive Criticism? Please be kind.


	22. Chapter 22

AN: I'm sooooo sorry guys. Life has been crazy hectic after taking on a new job and my old job happened to get super busy right now too. I tried my best to get this chapter uploaded before I left for a business trip over the weekend but I didn't have time to edit it. This is the longest I've gone of not posting and I feel so bad. This is just a fluffy chapter but one our girls needed. I hope you're all still enjoying my story and the little break I had didn't deter you away from it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

"Do you want to take a shower first?" Santana asks as they walk through the doors to their room.

"Only if you join me," Brittany says as she takes off her jacket and shoes.

Santana is speechless for a moment, then finds her words after a few seconds, "I mean, I would love to but I'm afraid I'll hurt you."

"Do you think I'm made out of glass or something?" Brittany asks with a smile. She walks towards Santana and pulls her into a hug. Santana hugs back tightly resting her chin on the taller girl's shoulder. They stay like that for a while just appreciating being this close to each other.

"I was so scared today," Santana mumbles against Brittany's shoulder. "Like, I felt like I couldn't breathe. Like, I just got you and then I felt like I almost lost you." Santana feels tears threatening to fall and quickly presses her eyes against Brittany's shoulder tightly; letting her t-shirt absorb her tears.

Brittany strokes her fingers along Santana's hair and leans her face against the back of her head, "I'm sorry I scared you, Honey, but I'm okay now. This is what I do. This is what I've always done. I understand that it may look scary, and yeah, it hurts a bit but accidents do happen but I'm always aware. I've been trained to be aware and always be as well prepared as I can."

Santana only hugs Brittany closer, as if it were even possible. The feelings Santana has inside can't be held in any longer and needs to be released. "Iloveyou," she mumbles quietly with her face pressed into the crook of Brittany's neck and she feels Brittany body hitch.

Brittany tightens her grip and turns her lips onto Santana's head and mumbles the words back, "Iloveyoutoo."

Santana feels a rush of emotion release from her body after hearing those words. Nothing she has ever felt before. It's a different type of happiness. One that makes her heart feel so incredibly big. A feeling that no one else has ever made her feel. She pulls back from the embrace and gives Brittany the tiniest sweetest smile as they look into each other's eyes. Brittany leans down and they share a sweet, tender kiss. One that's full of love. This may be the happiest moment of Santana's life so far, and she knows that being with Brittany will only give her more moments like this.

"Okay," Brittany says as their kiss breaks, "I'm going to take a shower because I feel like sweat has now soaked back into my pores and even though I would love to continue giving you sweet lady kisses, and as much as I would love for you to join me," she wiggles her eyebrows, "it's your choice, but I'm sticky as hell right now." Santana arches an eyebrow and Brittany chuckles, "You know what I mean."

Brittany kisses Santana's forehead and makes her way to the bathroom only closing it half way. Santana stands there for a moment collecting her thoughts and her feelings. She told someone she loved them and they said it back. This is a monumental moment for her. Brittany brings out all kinds of feelings and bravery in her that she never thought she had. She feels on top of the world with the best girlfriend she could ever wish for. She quietly thanks the universe before stripping her own shirt and jeans off, leaving her in only her bra and panties as she finally moves towards the bathroom. She peeks inside and sees Brittany in her panties taking her top off, quickly noticing the large fully formed bruise on her arm and thigh; more black than blue. Brittany checks them out in the mirror when she sees Santana peeking in.

When they make eye contact through the mirrors, Santana takes a step in and walks to the side of the injury and softly runs her fingers over it. Brittany not flinching at all. "Does it hurt?" She asks gently.

"It's not so bad. It looks worse than it is," Brittany says as she looks down at them again, pressing her index finger into bruise and then lifting it. Then doing it again.

"Stop playing with it," Santana scolds as she pulls Brittany's finger away from the bruise.

Brittany chuckles, "But it's cool watching it change colours like that." Santana glares harshly at her girlfriend and Brittany's smile fades away quickly. "Sorry."

"I don't like seeing you hurt, Britt. When you hurt, I hurt," Santana brushes her thumb against the bruise then leans in to kiss it.

She kisses her way down Brittany's arm, trying to transport any healing energy she has onto Brittany through her kisses. She lowers herself and kisses down her thigh that has as a large round bruise on it. Brittany watches her lovingly knowing exactly what she's doing. She softly runs her fingers through Santana's hair and scratches at her scalp. Santana slowly lifts her hand and pulls down the side of Brittany's panty exposing the dark reddish-brown, bluish, black mark on her hip and upper thigh. This is where she probably absorbed most of the impact from the fall. Santana scrunches her eyebrows and winces as she takes in what she has revealed. She gently runs her thumb over the spot and to her surprise Brittany actually flinches this time. Santana quickly removes her hand and snaps her head up to look at her with apologetic eyes. Brittany continues to stroke Santana's hair on the top of her head. "Sorry," Santana whispers.

"It's okay," Brittany replies, "I just didn't expect it to be so sensitive." Brittany removes her hand from Santana's head and brushes over the same spot with her own thumb; but with a lot less pressure than she did with her arm, "See, It's okay."

Santana does the same and brushes her thumb on the injured spot and Brittany has never felt this much love radiate from anyone onto her before and it only makes her love her girlfriend more. Santana leans in again and oh so softly just ghosts her lips over Brittany's hipbone, letting her lips linger a little longer on the spot before kissing it again. She pulls down the panties completely and stands up. They look deeply into each other's eyes conveying as much love as possible. They both lean in and their lips softly caress each other. Santana reaches around Brittany and unclasps her bra and drops it to the ground. Brittany does the same to her right after.

Their lips stay on each other, kissing gently until Brittany slips in her tongue causing Santana to hum into the kiss. They enjoy making out and caressing each other's skin for a while before they break apart to catch their breath. Santana moves to Brittany's neck kissing her way down to her collarbone. Brittany leans back onto the vanity and wraps her arms around Santana's waist sliding down under her panties and resting her hands on her ass. Santana works back up Brittany's neck and sucks on her pulse point causing her to moan and her weight to shift. Knowing Brittany is getting turned on she moves her way down again. Kissing her gently on her injuries until she's on her knees. The smell of Brittany's arousal has Santana clenching her own thighs together. She kisses around her naval and just above the pelvic bone when Brittany suddenly pulls back and rests her left hand on Santana's shoulder pushing her back a little bit, but Santana doesn't think anything of it and pushes Brittany's thighs apart but Brittany doesn't move, stiffening her legs.

"San – San, stop," Brittany whispers and Santana looks up from where she is.

"What's wrong?" She asks as she strokes Brittany's muscular calves. Brittany urges her up by the shoulder and Santana stands up to face the girl she loves, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you didn't, of course not. I'm so turned on by you right now, which I'm sure you already know," she leans her forehead against the shorter girls and Santana nods. "But…"

"You don't want me to? You're not ready?" Santana asks cautiously.

Brittany shakes her head and swallows then licks her lips, "I _do_ want you to and I _am_ ready, but…" Brittany pauses and Santana waits for her to continue. "But it won't work."

Santana's brow scrunches in, "What do you mean it won't work?" She leans in so their bare breasts are pushed against each other, feeling each other's warmth and heartbeat. Santana feels Brittany heart beating quite fast but not knowing if it's from arousal or from nervousness.

"I mean, like, I don't work when… like, I probably might not come if you… do… that," Brittany finally gets out and she takes in a long breath and then exhales.

"Have you…"

"Yes, I have, and I – it didn't work, I could barely feel anything and it was awkward and I don't want that to happen with you. It's – I don't know… embarrassing to have you do all these amazing things and not getting your desired result." She looks away.

"Being with you is my desired result and I already got it," Santana says while she kisses Brittany's cheek.

Santana runs her index finger up and down Brittany's chest as she thinks, "Can I… try?" Brittany looks at her worriedly. "If you don't want me to, I understand but, if you do want it, I'll try and you know no matter what happens, I'll most definitely still love you. Trust me, I love you so much, Brittany."

Brittany gives a small smile and leans down to kiss her holding her by the nape of the neck, "K," she whispers into the kiss, "And I love you too."

They quickly deepen the kiss to get themselves going again, but it's not like it takes very much. Having their bodies so close to each other, touching, is already enough to get them aroused. Santana takes a nipple between her fingers and twirls it around as she adds some tongue into the kiss. Brittany moans out and rubs up and down Santana's perfectly taunt waist. Slowly, Santana slides her hand down between Brittany's legs and feels how wet she still is and hums as she slowly lowers herself to her knees; kissing whatever spot she happens to stop at until she is again facing Brittany's core. She kisses each thigh, then below the naval, right above her perfectly smooth private bits, then she looks up. Brittany is watching, eyes a deep dark blue and she gives a nod as she brushes Santana's hair back.

Santana gives a tentative lick in through the slit and Brittany's breath hitches. She opens up Brittany's leg wider and licks again slowly in a long deep stroke.

Brittany exhales in pleasure, "Ohmagad," she breathes out and Santana smirks to herself.

Santana hooks her arm around Brittany's right leg and props it onto her shoulder.

Brittany's right hand is leaning against the vanity and her left is resting on Santana's shoulder.

Santana dives in gradually taking long slow strokes with her flat tongue then gently circling the clit. From her center all the way to the clit she licks and she begins to put more pressure and she starts moving quicker. Fast flicks of her tongue then stopping to suck, then circles; big and small. She feels Brittany's weight shift as she leans back a little more against the vanity. Her breathing has increased and she has moved her grip from her shoulder onto her head. She takes a quick peek up and sees Brittany's head is arched back. She scoots in just a bit closer and rests her entire mouth over Brittany's bits. She starts lapping at the clit; her head moving with her tongue.

"Oh God, San. Please don't stop," Brittany whines out as she grips onto her hair tightly sending a bit of pain through Santana but she loves it. Brittany begins grinding against Santana's mouth. Her breathing much heavier than she has ever heard it. Santana holds Brittany steady with her right hand and with her left she grabs a hold of Brittany's free hand. Brittany quickly grabs a tight hold and pushes Santana's head right up against her. Santana feels her face pushed up against Brittany's lady bits and it's completely turning her on at how hot this is and how well Brittany is receiving it.

"Oh Santana. Oh, ohhh…" Another suck and Brittany flies over the edge with a shriek as she comes. She lifts up onto her tip toes, fingers from both hands holding tightly to both her head and her hand. She shudders and shakes as Santana continues to pleasure her gently until Brittany drops her weight onto the flats of her feet again. Santana cleans her up. Lapping up all her juices, even the ones running down Brittany's inner thigh. Once Brittany completely comes down – which surprisingly took a long time, Santana gives a few more kisses to her thighs and hips before standing back up.

Brittany collapses into her embrace immediately, her breathing finally slowing.

"Wasssss that okay?" Santana asks as she wipes the edge of her mouth then kisses Brittany's ear.

"Uh huh… wow," Brittany breathes into Santana's shoulder.

"So, I guess you do work after all," Santana says with a smile as she smooths her hand over Brittany's hair and she feels her nod. "I think we can shower now," Santana giggles.

"But," Brittany says as she finally catches her breath. "But you."

"Don't even worry about me, I just wanted to make sure you weren't in too much pain to – do stuff, and now that I know you're okay, I'm satisfied."

"You just wait until tonight, I'll make sure you're satisfied," Brittany mumbles into her ear.

"Okay now, Breathless, I'll take you up on that offer after you're able to walk again. Can I help you into the shower?"

Brittany nods and Santana quickly turns on the shower and lets it warm up before guiding a very sleepy, very exhausted Brittany into the shower. Taking off her own panties, she sees a wet spot where her own arousal lay.

In the shower, Santana helps Brittany wash up making sure she's very gentle when it came to Brittany's hip. After standing in the shower for no more than 5 minutes, it seems like Brittany has gained most of her energy back and returned Santana's favour, with interest.

* * *

Santana wakes up early the next morning after spending some quiet time just cuddling and talking with Brittany the night before, sharing a light room service meal, and keeping her promise by leaving Santana completely satisfied before they went to bed that night; falling asleep in each other's arms.

This is one of the very few times Santana has actually woken up before Brittany. Brittany is usually the one to drag Santana out of bed but today, she sees blonde hair sprawled every which way over the pillows. Brittany is sleeping on her stomach with her left arm outstretched and placed over Santana's waist. She looks down at Brittany's arm and frowns at the bruise but continues to tell herself what Brittany had told her – that it's only a bruise and that she's is okay. Santana leans over and brushes Brittany's hair away from her face and kisses the cheek of her beautiful, peaceful girlfriend; the love of her life.

Brittany's eyes flutter open and smiles when she sees Santana looking at her. She closes her eyes again, "Were you watching me sleep?" she asks as she scoots closer, wrapping her arm tighter around her.

"I was a little bit, you're so beautiful when you sleep," Santana admits. The smile grows on Brittany's face as she attempts to turn onto her side so she can face Santana directly, but her smile turns into a wince as she slowly turns over and stretches out her arm and back. "Are you okay?" Santana asks not knowing whether to touch her or not. Not wanting to cause any more pain.

"I'm okay. I expected this to happen. I'm just a little sore."

"A little sore?" Santana challenges with a quirked eyebrow.

"Okay, I'm pretty sore. Everything hurts," Brittany says as she relaxes her body from the stretch and shoves her face into Santana's neck and nestling herself into a comfortable position. "I think I'll just stay like this the whole day," she mumbles.

Santana rubs her hand up and down Brittany's back then kisses the top of her head, "I would like that." She runs her hand up to the back of Brittany's neck and begins massaging it gently and immediately feels Brittany relax into her as she hums in appreciation.

"That feels so good," Brittany mumbles.

"Here, why don't you lie down on your stomach and I'll give you a massage." Santana slowly removes herself from Brittany momentarily. "Take off your shirt," she says as she scoots over.

"You just want to see me topless," Brittany says and Santana smirks and shrugs.

"Hurry up before the offer expires," Santana rolls her eyes and Brittany gives her a quick kiss before removing her shirt and gets into a comfortable position on her stomach. Santana straddles her lower back and starts at the neck, pressing her thumbs into the sides.

"Mmm," Brittany hums out. "Thank you, baby."

Santana leans down and kisses just below the back of her neck as she continues the massage. She works her way over the shoulder blade and very gently over her left shoulder.

"Ooh, that's a painful one," Brittany mumbles into her pillow.

"Is this okay?" Santana lightens up on the pressure.

"No, it was better before, keep going hard."

"But I don't want to hurt you," Santana says with a frown.

"Remember when I gave you that massage, Babe? You probably hated me a lot for really digging into your muscles, but it works better that way. You felt better afterwards right?"

Santana laughs at the memory, "Yes and no. Yes because I got to have your hands on me and no because you made me laugh and my abs hurt so bad that day."

"Oh yeah," Brittany laughs. "I was so glad you let me rub you down, I loved every moment of it."

"Me too," Santana whispers as she reminisces at how far they've come in their relationship and continues massaging Brittany all the way down to her calves. Most of the time they were silent other than Santana asking about the pressure. Santana enjoying feeling Brittany's muscles and appreciating the body she is so in love with. After about an hour's worth of massage Santana throws the blanket back over them and Brittany wraps her arms around her.

"Thanks baby, you're the best." Brittany leans in and gives Santana a kiss on the lips then laying back down onto her chest. "I'm so lucky, I get a massage and now I get cuddles with my Santeddy."

"Really? Again with that nickname?"

Brittany's body vibrates with laughter, "It's pretty lame isn't it?"

"Yeah, a little, but it's cute when you say it. Especially when I get to be all wrapped up in you every time you do. Totally worth it."

"I love you," Brittany says out of nowhere in the most exhausted, tired voice Santana has ever heard come out of Brittany's mouth.

"I love you, too." She looks down at Brittany and noticed that her eyes are closed and her breathing has steadied. She has fallen asleep from the relaxation of the massage. Santana's hungry but decides to let her girlfriend get some more rest since she's the only one who has been working the last week. This is her rest time, and there is no way in hell she's going to interrupt her. Santana holds her tighter, thanking all the Gods she can for giving her such a perfect girl.

* * *

After about another two hours Brittany wakes up and lays a few kisses on Santana's lips, cheeks, and neck waking her up.

"Sorry, I fell asleep too," Santana mumbles and rubs her eyes.

"You're beautiful when you sleep too." Santana can't help but blush and returns a couple of kisses. "I'm hungry, wanna go grab an early lunch?" Brittany asks as she rubs her belly. Just at that exact mention of lunch, Santana's belly growls and Brittany gives her a wide eyed – shocked expression. "Well, I guess that's yes." They both burst out in laughter.

"I was hungry since I woke up this morning," Santana admits.

"What?" Brittany frowns, "You should've said something."

Santana only shrugs, "You needed more rest, plus I got to have my hands all over you," she winks.

"Ugh, you're awesome, babe. I'm so glad you're here in L.A. with me. You have no idea."

"I'm glad I'm here too. I'm having the most amazing time with you."

They give each other a few more kisses until Santana's stomach growls again then they decide it's time to leave before Santana's stomach goes out to lunch without them.

* * *

After their lovely lunch that consisted of multiple refills of coffee for Santana, they decide to go a mall and do a little shopping. Brittany ends up buying two bag of treats and toys for Lord Tubbington, a few souvenirs for her family, and a dress for Santana that apparently showed off her perky breasts and luscious ass. Brittany was super proud of that purchase and almost jumped Santana right when she walked out to show her the dress. They did, however have a make out session and Brittany copped a couple of feels in the change room before Santana changed out of it – convincing her to let Brittany buy it for her. Santana bought Brittany a jacket, and a pair of boots she thought she looked amazing in as well as a toy or two for Lord T.

They had dinner at the food court because Brittany was so excited to see pretzel dogs, Santana decided to buy her six, but ended up eating two herself.

They took the long way back to the hotel, trying to walk off the pretzel dog that Santana is now feeling just sitting there in her stomach. They get back to the hotel and Brittany decides to use the gym for a bit. Santana goes back to the room to check her email. Replying to Mercedes and Rachel about her days in L.A. and how she will update them more when she gets back in less than two weeks. She then hops in the shower, knowing Brittany would want to shower right when she gets back.

After Brittany's return, she goes straight to the shower, pouting when she noticed Santana has showered without her. When she gets out, she's wrapped in only a towel and drops it before sliding into the sheets naked. Santana is wide eyed as she sits at the desk reading a magazine. Brittany has a wicked smile on her face. Apparently, working out releases endorphins for Brittany that causes her to become extra horny when she thinks of Santana. Right away, Santana attempts to climb into bed but is stopped and is told to strip before entering. After a low, raspy "wanky" was said she does as she's told and crawls into bed wearing just as much (or as little) as Brittany.

Brittany pounces on her and they have fast heart pounding sex. They lie tangled in the sheets with Brittany draped over half of Santana's body. Both of them breathless and sweaty again.

Santana pulls Brittany in to cuddle as she sweeps the blonde hair out of her face, "So are you going to the gym tomorrow too?" Santana laughs, "Because I think you should."

"Are you calling me fat?" Brittany asks with an exaggerated shocked look on her face.

Santana runs her fingers down Brittany's abs. "Totally not, but if we're going to have sex like that again, then yes, you are an elephant." She leans in and gives Brittany a deep kiss.

"I love elephants!" Brittany exclaims after their kiss breaks.

"And I love _you._ "

"But if I'm an elephant then you love elephants too!" Brittany says with a big smile.

"Well, I guess I do… smart ass."

"I'd rather be a smart ass than a dumb ass."

Santana chuckles and kisses Brittany's temple, "Totally," she agrees. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, if you haven't noticed, I'm a lot less sore now than I was earlier today, thanks to your massage," Brittany looks at her and gives her a quick peck to the lips.

"How about your hip?"

"It's okay, I know it still looks pretty bad, but it's not as sensitive as it was before. It's a lot better, for sure. Especially since you gave it so many healing kisses."

Santana nods with a small smile. They cuddle and just appreciate being with each other and another blonde suddenly pops into Santana's mind and she remembers that she needs to have a conversation with Brittany about something important before they go back to Ohio. "Britt?" Santana says quietly in case the other girl has fallen asleep.

"Yeah?" Brittany says completely awake.

"I need to tell you something."

* * *

Ugh. Hate me for stopping here. I hate me too, but I gotta save something for the next chapter... which I promise will be up sooner than this one. Thank you all for staying with me.

Comments? Reviews? Constructive criticism? Please be kind.


	23. Chapter 23

AN: Thank you for being so patient with me. There's a lot going on right now and I'm doing my best to get each chapter out as quickly as I can.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

"I need to tell you something," Santana says nervously.

Brittany looks at her and shuffles herself up so they're looking directly at each other. "What's up?"

"Don't be mad, okay?" Santana says as she looks down at her own hands, empty now that she's not holding Brittany.

"Okay…" Brittany scrunches her brows and clasps her hands together, becoming completely serious.

"Do you remember Cassie?"

"Cassie… the girl at The Tank?"

"Yeah, her."

"What about her?"

"Remember I told you she had a thing for you?"

"And that I didn't care? Yes."

"Well, the day that whole incident happened, you know, where she tried to – um – punch me, we were talking before class and she made a bet with me," Santana's voice wavers, feeling absolutely stupid for forgetting about this until now. Brittany is silent, not even giving a nod or acknowledgement at what Santana is saying. She appears to be holding her breath. So, Santana continues. "She caught me staring at you and then told me I had no chance with you then made a bet with me that she could kiss you first."

"But we already – "

"We did. And I let her know. That's why she was so mad at me that day, I think."

"Okay, well, that's no big deal," Brittany begins to relax a little bit.

"There's more," Santana says as she takes a deep breath in and this time Brittany nods for her to continue. "After she found out I kissed you, she wanted to make another bet..." She pauses for a moment and looked at Brittany's face so she can judge her reaction, "She made a bet on who could sleep with you first."

Brittany bites her bottom lip and looks away for a moment, realizing she's naked she pulls up the sheets a bit, completely breaking Santana's heart. "So you… all of this…"

"No!" Santana almost screams out. "No, Britt. Of course not. You know how much I liked you before, you know how deep my feelings went for you before all of that." Brittany licks her lips but still seems to be lost in thought. "Britt, I'm sorry," tears are brimming Santana's eyes and a droplet decides to sneak out. "I completely forgot about it."

Brittany glances over at her and her face softens just a touch, "Did you agree to it?"

"To the bet? No, I didn't. I couldn't – I couldn't do that to you."

Brittany nods and looks over at her tear stained cheeks. She reaches over and brushes away the streaks left by the fallen tears. "Thank you." Santana looks up through her lashes. "Thank you for telling me, and for not taking the bet."

Santana gives a small nod. Brittany reaches over and wraps her arms around her. Santana hugs her back tightly. "You still trust me right?" She says with her face hidden in Brittany's hair.

"Of course I do." They hold each other in a tight hug. "But Cassie is a bitch."

Santana exhales a laugh, "She is."

Their hug breaks and Santana snuggles into Brittany's arms as they lie down again. "What would you have won? If you took on that bet?"

Santana shakes her head and shrugs, "I have no idea. We didn't get that far."

"I bet it would have been a car."

Santana chuckles and gives Brittany a kiss on the collarbone. "Well then, damn."

"Maybe, when we go back, you can pretend to take on the bet again, then you can win!"

Santana straightens up and looks Brittany dead in the eyes and shakes her head, "I'm not going to do that, Britt. I'm not betting on you."

"Not even for a car?" Brittany asks shocked.

"Not even for a car."

Brittany's expression immediately changes and presents the sweetest smile. She gives Santana a quick peck on the cheek, "Thank you."

With a smile of her own, Santana gives her chaste kiss back on the lips before taking on her original position, laying her head on Brittany's chest.

* * *

The girls spend the weekend cuddling in bed, having sex, going out to try new restaurants, and taking walks in the park. They plan their flight back to Ohio in just over a week so they can fly together and share a cab back home.

"I'm having a great time here with you, Britt-Britt," Santana says softly during their Sunday morning cuddles. She's wearing Brittany's t-shirt while Brittany is wearing a tank top and boxers. "It's going to be so weird going back to Lima. So much has changed."

"Not too much has changed," Brittany says as she runs her fingers up and down Santana's arm. "We'll still see more of each other than we do our other friends and we can still have sleep overs like we did before I came here. The only thing different is that now we're officially together and that we love each other… but then again, I probably loved you back then too, I just didn't have time to express it completely."

Santana lifts her head and give Brittany a lingering kiss, followed by a quick peck as soon as the kiss broke. "I think I loved you too, I just didn't know. I've never actually loved anyone before."

Brittany looks down at her but Santana has avoided her gaze and is drawing circles with her finger against Brittany's chest.

"Really?"

"Well, I've loved people, I think, but that's like how I love my parents - love, or how I love my friends - love. I've never had this kind of love before, it's different."

Brittany squeezes just a bit tighter, "It is different, isn't it?"

Santana nods against her chest. "Is it different for you, too?" Santana asks shyly then shakes her head and closes her eyes for a moment before opening them again, "No, nevermind, you've loved people before, like _love_ loved people."

"Well, yes. I have. I've loved people before but it's different because I don't think I've ever been _in_ love before. That could be the difference I'm feeling."

Santana sits up so she can look at Brittany's bright blue eyes, "In love? You're in love with me?"

Brittany shrugs and tilts her head to the side, but not taking her eyes off the chocolatey ones looking back at her, "I am. I know it's fast and I hope I'm not scaring you, but it's the only way to describe it. I can't say it's the same type of love I had for…" she pauses and bites her bottom lip.

"Cody? You can say his name, Britt."

Brittany takes in a breath, "it's not the same type of love I had for Cody. It's so much more. It's so much deeper. It runs through every part of me when I see you or when I think of you, or even just hearing your name. When I think of you and the word love it's like I'm in it. Like a giant love jell-o and I'm swimming in the middle of it with you and I'm so happy."

"That's one way to explain it," Santana laughs. "If that's the case, then I'm in that love jell-o right there with you, Brittany."

Without having to explain that she meant she was in love with Brittany too, the two of them locked their lips together as things begin to heat up.

They make love that morning and into the early afternoon. Brittany ended up falling asleep after Santana made her come a few extra times.

* * *

When Brittany finally wakes up from her nap, Santana is sitting up in bed with the sheets covering half of her. She's reading a fashion magazine she picked up the day before while she treated Brittany to a manicure.

Brittany scoots closer, wraps her arm around Santana's waist and snuggles into her hip.

Santana smiles to herself and rests the magazine against her leg and drops her hand to stroke the blonde hair. "Hey," she says softly. "Have a good nap?"

"Mmm," Brittany groans out, "I think I've mostly recovered from your amazing sweet lovin', but my legs still feel weak."

Santana lets out an airy chuckle and scratches at the blonde scalp, "You're welcome."

Brittany leaves a few kisses to Santana's hip before shuffling herself into the sitting position and resting her chin on Santana's shoulder. "Should we go eat something? I'm pretty hungry now. I could use a burger and milkshake… Can we get a burger and a milkshake?"

Santana laughs and closes her magazine. "But I already ate… twice!" She throws her head back and laughs as Brittany digs her face into her shoulder a little deeper to hide from embarrassment. "And it was finger lickin' good," she adds, kissing the top of Brittany's head.

"Okay, that's it, I'm going back to sleep," Brittany turns over and throws the covers over her head.

Santana bursts into laughter as she pushes herself against Brittany's back and tries to pull the sheet down but Brittany resists, "Aw, baby, I'm kidding… well, no I'm not. None of what I said was untrue, and I'd do it again in a second," she puts her lips to where she assumes Brittany's ear is, "You're super hot and super sexy, and I love you." Santana senses Brittany exhaling but then shuffles a few inches away from her again. "Come on babe, I'll buy you a big juicy burger and an extra thick milkshake," She sings. She pulls on the sheet again and notices Brittany has stopped fighting. Santana pulls the sheet down just to expose half of Brittany's face. She kisses the shell of her ear, "Let's go before the restaurant closes or runs out of milkshakes."

With those words, Brittany turns around and faces her, "They can't run out of milkshakes."

"Sure they can. They'll run out strawberry the fastest," Santana teases. Brittany pouts and Santana can't help but kiss her protruding lip. "Come on, let's go."

"Fine, just one more," Brittany puckers up and Santana immediately lock their lips together. Brittany hugs her tight and deepens the kiss before breaking apart.

"If you keep doing that, we're never going to get there on time. We might never even leave this bed."

"I love you," Brittany says as she looks seriously at Santana, "more than anything."

A smile brushes on Santana's lip and she feels herself getting much more emotional than she intends to. "I love you, too."

And with another deep breath, Brittany drags Santana by the hand out of bed and they get washed up and changed before taking a taxi to The Big Burger and Shake Shack."

The girls are seated in a booth and they both order a burger and shake combo. Brittany with a strawberry shake and Santana with a chocolate one. They talk about Brittany going back to the studio the next day and how she was ready to get back to work. Santana showed some hesitance but was completely understanding and supportive; even though she told Brittany that she may or may not watch it all.

The door chimes and a few men walk in. Santana recognizes the voice right away and looks up at the door before lowering her eyes to her plate. Brittany notices and turns her head.

Cody, Jason, Adam, and another guy walk in laughing and shoving each other. Brittany turns her attention back to Santana and shrugs before picking up her milkshake and taking a sip. Adam stops when he sees Santana and Cody bumps into him.

"What the hell, man?" Cody says as he pushes Adam from behind. Santana is trying to cover her face but notices the faded bruise around Cody's eye and a light red line and a bump on Jason's nose. "Well, well, look who's here. The girls that got us fired," Cody says as he walks by.

"You got you fired, not us," Santana tilts her head while looking at the boys. Brittany glancing up then nodding but continuing to drink her milkshake.

"Whatever," was all Jason was able to say as they take their seats behind Santana.

Santana feels heated and angry just looking at their faces. She just stares down at almost finished burger and flicks a fry around on her plate. Brittany taps her toe against Santana's shin lightly to get her attention. "Hey, don't let them get to you," she says, "It's not worth it. We're here to have a good time."

Santana gives a half-hearted smile and nods while trying not to let their presence bother her and picks up her burger to take a bite. Just as she picks up her shake to take a sip, someone from behind slams back into their seat and as a result drives Santana forward spilling her drink all over herself and the table.

"What the fuck!" Santana yells stands up. She hears laughter come from behind her.

"Sorry," Jason says sarcastically as he tries to hold in his amusement.

"San," Brittany gently reminds Santana to be the bigger person and to let it go. "We're almost done, we can go soon. I'll get the check."

Santana sits down again and wipes the front of her shirt and lap which now has chocolate shake stains on it. "Fuck, these stains are gonna be hard to get out."

"I'll buy you a new one, babe," Brittany says as she waves the waitress down for the check.

"That's not the point. Those assholes did it on purpose."

When the waitress comes and Brittany pays for their meal before Santana can reach for her purse. "No, no, I told you I was gonna treat you," Santana argues. Brittany just grabs her hand and kisses it with no words. Santana knows she's trying to calm her down, and it's working. "Okay, thank you then. Tomorrow's dinner is on me!"

Brittany winks then kisses the air directed at her with a smile.

"Looks like today's dinner is on you too," Jason and Cody appear and are standing next to her.

"Hey," Brittany speaks sharply and the boys look over to her, "Leave her alone and go sit down. Can we all just be mature adults about this? We don't want any more trouble, what's done is done."

The boys ignore her and turn back to Santana, "Damn, looks like your shirt got dirty. It's pretty much ruined since chocolate is a bitch to get out, isn't it?" Cody says.

Jason continues, "But since your girlfriend is nice enough to buy you a new one anyway…" He takes the strawberry shake the other guys is holding in his hand and tosses it quickly at Santana before she has a chance to react (there was nowhere for her to run to anyway), coating her neck and the rest of her shirt. "You like the pink don't you?"

"That's it!" Brittany slams her hands down on the table and leaps out of the booth. She rushes at the boys and tackles Cody which in turn knocks over Jason since they're standing right next to each other. Cody lands straight on his back and she punches the side of his head once before he puts his arms up to block her. She throws a few more punches to his mouth first then to his left ear; where ever he wasn't currently blocking. Jason stands up and rips her off of Cody, throwing her to the ground. She quickly sweeps her right leg out catching Jason's foot then kicks his leg with her left tripping him as he and lands on top of Cody.

Brittany runs over towards them and starts punching Jason from behind, "Fucking assholes!" Brittany shouts out as she continues to punch Jason's head and ribs – where ever she can find an opening. Cody is now trapped under both Brittany's and Jason's weight but Jason is unable to move with Brittany attacking him from behind and not wanting to turn around risking exposing his nose to her again.

"Brittany's stop it!" Santana is yelling. Brittany hears it but her rage is overpowering her. Nobody, but nobody messes with Santana and gets away with it without a pounding.

Eventually, she's grabbed from behind and she takes a swing at the person holding her when she realizes it's a large bulky man, probably just another customer, perhaps a club bouncer having his dinner before work. She turns around and is about to launch herself at the boys when the man pulls her back. "Easy there, Feisty. No more of that," the man says.

As soon as Brittany stops flailing her arms, Santana steps towards her still covered in milkshake with an apprehensive look on her face. "Britt, we should go. Let's go."

"I think you should listen to her," the man says. We all saw what happened, and know you were provoked and you were protecting your friend here…"

"Girlfriend," Brittany corrects him.

"Girlfriend," the man repeats. "But you should probably go before you do more harm and then even we can't help you."

Brittany looks at Santana. Santana nods and holds her hand out. Brittany takes it in hers and the man gently lets go of her. The girls grab their bags and the boys on the ground look up at her, completely exhausted and beat up; red marks and bruises appearing quickly. Brittany points a finger at them, giving them their final warning before they turn and walk towards the door, a few customers giving her thumbs up and nods.

"What the fuck was that?" they hear Adam say just as they exit, obviously not wanting to be a part of whatever just happened.

As soon as they get outside, Brittany waves down a cab and they get in. "Keep your eyes on the road," Brittany tells the driver right after she tells him the address. "Take off your top," Brittany whispers to Santana as she takes off her own jacket, covering her from the drivers view.

Santana does and crumples her sticky milkshake stained shirt into a ball before Brittany quickly wraps Santana in the jacket and zips it up.

They sit in the cab in silence. Santana, not knowing what to say and a little bit in shock at what happened. Brittany, obviously trying to calm herself down. Her hands still in tight fists and her eyes are closed while she tries to regulate her breathing. Santana just watches her, and when she feels like Brittany has calmed down enough she reaches over and gently places her hand on top of the blonde's fist.

Brittany turns her head and gives and weak smile before opening her hand and entwining their fingers. Once they reach the hotel, Santana pays the driver, grabs her soaked shirt and they walk into the hotel together. She throws her shirt into the lobby garbage can before they go up to their room. This is the longest they've gone without speaking to each other while being in each other's presence.

When they finally get to their room, they lock the door and Santana leads Brittany to the bed and sits her down as she stands in front of her. Brittany's eyebrows are pinched together and it looks like she's in deep thought. Carefully, Santana brushes the blonde bangs away from her face and kisses her forehead trying to release the tension that has built up there. Brittany finally looks up and makes eye contact with her.

"Are you okay?" Santana asks while running her thumb over Brittany's cheekbone.

Brittany shakes her head. "I'm mad," is all she says.

"I know you are."

Brittany swallows, "I'm so, so mad, Santana. Like, I'm not finished with them, type of mad."

"Hey," Santana leans in and gives her a sweet kiss on the lips that Brittany barely reacts to. "I want to thank you for standing up for me. You're like my lady knight in shining armour."

Brittany's lips turn up just for a second at her girlfriend's words before she goes into full concentration mode again. "Can you sit? I want to tell you something about me." Santana nods and quickly takes a seat beside her, taking her hand in the process. Her body is turned towards her, giving Brittany her full attention. The blonde takes in a deep breath before she starts. "When I was younger, my family used to call me their little firecracker. I'm usually pretty calm until something lights me on fire then I explode. I go all crazy and hit things, throw things, break things, but I also quickly calm down. I think that's how I let out my frustrations, with physical force."

Santana furrows her brows, "So, have you ever hurt your family? Physically? Or hit anybody?"

Brittany shakes her head, "No, I would never. And I want to let you know that I would never, ever hurt you either. And I've never hurt anyone before intentionally – unless it was during a competition, but even then, I would make sure they were okay afterwards. In fact, the first person I've actually intentionally hurt out of protection or rage was when you got mugged that time."

Santana's mouth dropped open, "Really?"

Brittany nods, "There was no way I could just stand there and not do something. And then, the thing that happened with Noah, then at the studio, and then today. I'm scared, Santana. I'm scared because I hurt them, I hurt them and I don't feel guilty. I hurt them and I still feel angry. I'm afraid they will hurt you again if I don't teach them a bigger lesson. I want to hurt them as much as they hurt me when I see them attacking you. But I don't want to hurt people, Santana. It's not me." Brittany's eyes tear up and one slides out and down her cheek. "I'm still so angry, but I also don't want you to be afraid of me. Afraid of what I'd do. I'm not a violent person. I don't know what came over me, I just – I just saw red and attacked. Please don't be afraid of me." Brittany lets out a sob and Santana quickly wraps her arms around her, holding her tightly, Brittany's head falls on her shoulder.

"Shh… shh… It's okay, Britt. I'm not afraid of you, and I completely understand why you did what you did. If I were able to, I probably would have done the same if I was in your position and those guys picked on you. I might not have had the same amount of skill or power, but I would have done what I could to avenge you, its pure instinct." Santana rubs her back, trying to sooth her crying.

After a few more minutes of comforting, Brittany finally wipes away her tears and Santana kisses her on the cheek, then the lips.

"You probably want to go take a shower, huh?" Brittany asks, looking at the sticky pink smudge on neck and chest.

"Yeah," Santana chuckles, "Kinda feel a little gross and sticky."

"Okay, why don't you do that. Is it okay if I go to the fitness room for a bit? I want to work out a little more, just to make sure I get everything out."

"Of course, you don't have to ask me."

Brittany leans in and gives her another kiss before Santana stands up and heads to the bathroom and Brittany grabs her key card and leaves the room.

While Santana is towel drying her hair in the bathroom, she hears the hotel room door close. She hangs her towel and walks out. Brittany's cheeks are flushed and her forehead is glistening with sweat. Her hands are in her hoodie pockets. Santana walks up to her and welcomes her back with a hug. Brittany hugs her tightly.

"My turn to shower," Brittany says as she breaks the hug and pecks Santana on the lips before tucking her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

"What time do you need to wake up for work tomorrow?" Santana asks as she sits on the bed and grabs her phone, "I want to set an alarm and make sure you're not late."

"I'll wake up at 8 so I can get there by 10. Are you coming?"

Santana thinks for a moment. She's afraid to see Brittany get hurt, but at the same time, wants to spend as much as she can with her before they go back to Ohio and she has to go back to work. "Sure, I'll go. Just do what you usually do and drag me out of bed if you need to." She hears Brittany laugh before the shower starts and the door closes.

When Brittany is finished, she walks out in her sleep shorts and a new hoodie. "Aren't you hot in that?" Santana asks.

"No, not really," Brittany shrugs and slips her hands in her front pocket again.

"You will warm up once you get your tight little ass in here," Santana lifts the sheets and Brittany skips towards the bed and hops in.

"Fine," Brittany says and takes off the top, revealing a tank top with a duck on it, before quickly covering herself with the blanket.

"Cute," Santana smiles. "I've never seen this tank top on you."

"Oh, it's really old. I just sleep it in sometimes because it's so worn down and comfy."

The girls sit in bed with Brittany leaning on Santana's shoulder. Her arms wrapped around the Latina's waist and the blanket up to their chest watching people barbequing on the food network. Santana feels Brittany's weight shift and is leaning on her more. Santana looks down at her and sees her eyes are fluttering open and closed. She grabs the hand that's resting on her stomach and link their fingers together.

"Hey, Britt-Britt," She says quietly. She lifts her hand out from under the blanket to her lips to kiss her awake so they can lie down and sleep properly when she notices Brittany's knuckles are bruised and cut. Her heart goes from normal to devastated instantly. She can't rip eyes away from the different colours forming on her girlfriend's hand.

"Huh?" Brittany wakes up from her light sleep but once she opens her eyes and sees what Santana's has her eyes on, she quickly jerks her hand away, shoving it back under the blanket. Her eyes are wide but she can't make contact with Santana.

"What happened? Brittany, what did you do? Was that from earlier today?" She goes to reach for her hand again but Brittany is adamant to keep them undercovers.

"Nothing. Yeah. It was."

"Britt?"

Brittany sinks lower into the bed. "What?" she mumbles quietly, looking at the foot of the bed.

"Can I see your other hand too?"

"Why?"

"Please?" Brittany closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath before releasing it. Not being able to deny her girlfriend, she takes out her other hand. Showing more bruising and cuts. "From what I remember, you only punched the guys with your right hand. Why are both hands damaged? Tell me the truth. Did you get in a fight while I showered?"

"No, no I didn't," Brittany's eyes meet Santana's quickly.

"So what happened?" She asks as she runs her thumb over the slightly swollen knuckles.

"There's a punching bag in the fitness room, but when I got there, I realized I've forgotten my hand-wraps. I didn't want to bother coming back up to get them because I wanted to release the steam and then get back to you as soon as I could. So, I went hard on the bag for a while, without any gloves or wraps. It's nothing though, it doesn't even hurt very much." Brittany looks down at them then back at Santana.

Santana holds her hand out for Brittany's other and she places them in Santana's palm knowingly. She lifts it to her lips and places a gentle kiss on every single one of her knuckles. "I understand that you need to release your anger and frustration, Britt. But next time you do it, can you try to remember your wraps or like, punch a pillow or something soft?"

Brittany lets out an airy chuckle, "Punching something soft really doesn't help, San."

"You know what I mean," she runs her fingers over Brittany's knuckles again.

"I do and I'm sorry. I will try to remember my wraps next time. I just – I get so into my head sometimes and I just want to get everything out before I hurt someone."

"Tell that to Cody and Jason."

Brittany shrugs, "Well, that was just instinct." Brittany winks at her for using her words.

"Should we put some ice on it or something? It's starting to swell."

"I'll be okay, I just want to cuddle with you right now."

Santana holds her arms out and Brittany snuggles in close against her girlfriend.

"Still cold?" Santana asks with a raised brow.

"Nah, my girlfriend is keeping me warm."

"Sure am!" Santana says proudly as she kisses the top of Brittany's head.

The girls fall asleep early in effort for Brittany to be completely rejuvenated before work the next day. Tranquility runs through Santana in her sleep; knowing that Brittany surly taught those boys a lesson today and that they won't be showing their faces around them anymore unless they want their asses handed to them again.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading and keeping this ship sailing. Love you all.

Comments? Reviews? Constrictive criticism? Please be kind.


	24. Chapter 24

AN: In a few weeks, I'll be going on vacation. I won't be posting anymore chapters until I get back, but I will be writing while I'm away. Because of this, I'm hoping to get the chapters out faster after I return. Thank you for your patience.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

The next day, Santana goes into work with Brittany and everything runs smoothly. The new stunt doubles were great and the choreography went just the way the director wanted it. The girls were told that Cody and Jason have been officially banned from working with their producers and they have been blacklisted from stepping foot into the studio at all. Brittany had one more day of shooting before it was time to go back home to Lima. She was to train with Vic the next couple of days and they were to shoot their scene on Thursday before the girls spend their final weekend together and fly home Monday evening. Proud of her girlfriend, Santana took Brittany out for a triple scoop ice cream with sprinkles, whipped cream, and chocolate fudge.

Brittany spent 5 hours each day for the next two days with Vic and their choreographer working on their new fight set. Santana went with her to the coffee shop by their hotel on the second day to pick up some coffee and baked goods for Vic, and to thank him for being such a great friend. That was the first time Santana did not encounter Dani working there, which was unfortunate because it would have been a good day for her to finally introduce her to Brittany and to show her off.

On Thursday, Santana went with Brittany to her final shoot. Everything went well, and Brittany barely got a few bruises on her forearm and one on her shin from blocking some of Vic's hits. Nothing close to being as frightening as her last incident. After 6 hours, she's finally finished. She takes a few sips of water and says her goodbyes to the rest of the crew.

Before Brittany moved towards the change room for a quick shower Vic catches up with her, "Hey Brittany! A few of us want to take you and Santana out for some drinks and dancing before the two of you leave on Monday. Are you doing anything tomorrow night?"

"I think we should be okay, we don't have any plans. I'll check with Santana."

Brittany picks up her cellphone and dials. She puts her phone up to her ear and looks over in the direction of her beautiful brunette sitting in one of the folded chairs waiting for her. Santana looks at her phone and then scans the studio, making eye contact with Vic then with Brittany.

 _"Sup babe?" Santana answers while looking directly at her from across the studio._

"Are we free Friday night? Some of the guys want to take us out for drinks and dancing."

 _"We? They want me to go too?"_

"Of course they want you to go, Silly. If it's a party for me, it's a party for you too." Brittany's smile can be seen from a mile away.

 _"Sure, let's do it."_

Brittany nods to Vic and Vic fist pumps the air. "Thanks, hun. Love you," Brittany says into the phone, resulting in an eye roll from Vic.

 _"Love you too."_

"I'll let the guys know. Meet us at Club 404 at 9pm."

"Will do! See you then." Brittany gives a quick wave and then runs towards the change room. Excited that she's finally done with work and has the rest of the weekend to relax and spend with Santana. Sure, she had a week prior to spend with her, but it's not quite the same when she's still constantly thinking of choreography in the back of her mind.

The girls take the long way back to the hotel. They get changed and Santana takes Brittany out to a fancy steakhouse for dinner to celebrate her last day at work. Santana is wearing the dress Brittany bought her when they went shopping a few days back. A one shoulder tight black dress that goes up mid-thigh, showing off her beautifully boisterous boobs and luscious ass. Brittany is wearing an elegant purple halter dress that shows off her never ending legs and amazingly toned arms. Once they get to the restaurant the girls order and Santana can't seem to take her eyes off her girlfriend.

"Whatchu lookin' at?" Brittany looks around her seat.

"You," Santana says with a smile.

"Why?"

"Because I still can't believe that you're my girlfriend."

Brittany smiles and shakes her head as if Santana is being ridiculous. "You better believe it. Yours. I'm yours and you're mine."

"I like the sound of that."

"Me too."

A glass of red is pour for both girls and they cheers before taking a sip.

"So, how does it feel finally being finished with your work here?"

"It's bittersweet," Brittany says as she puts her glass down. "I'm ready to get out of the hotel and go back home, but at the same time, I'm going to miss some of these guys here and well, I'm going to miss living with you."

A few thoughts run through Santana's mind about living with each other when they go back, but she feels like it's probably too soon to bring it up. "Remember you said we can still have sleepovers."

"Yeah, that's true, but I don't know. This was like a nice working vacation. It barely felt like work at all since you arrived. It was really, really nice."

"Well, tomorrow you will party with your friends then we get to spend the rest of the weekend together before we go back and then we will discuss living arrangements."

Brittany's face lights up and a huge smile takes over. The waiter brings over their dinner and Brittany does her cute little food dance – wiggling her butt and shaking side to side while eyeing the food on her plate. After their main course, they get a hot fudge brownie sundae with ice cream and whipped cream to share then take a cab back to the hotel. Brittany changes out of her dress and Santana sits on the edge of the bed watching her. After slipping on a pair of sweat pants, Brittany looks up and smiles.

"Aren't you going to change?" Brittany asks as she walks towards Santana and stands between her legs. Santana automatically wraps her arms around Brittany's waist.

"I will. I'm just relaxing and enjoying my view."

Brittany leans down and gives Santana a kiss on the lips. "You have all the time in the world to enjoy the view. I'm not going anywhere. Why don't you get changed into something more comfortable and we can take a walk and just enjoy the crisp evening air?"

Santana puckers again and Brittany obliges. "Okay," Santana says as she stands up.

"Wait."

Santana stops just as she's about to unzip her dress and Brittany wraps her arms securely around Santana. One hand on her lower back and the other behind her neck as she kisses her hard; taking her by surprise. Brittany pulls her in just a bit closer and deepens the kiss even more. Santana can't help but run her fingers through Brittany's hair. Brittany slips in a tongue and Santana lets it in easily. Brittany runs her hand up and down Santana's back pulling her closer so their breasts are smooshed against each other. Finally, their kiss breaks and Santana finds herself breathing heavily with her eyes closed.

"What was that for?" Santana says once she catches her breath and opens her eyes.

"Nothing, you just look hot in that dress," Brittany smiles and runs her hand through the brunette locks. Santana quirks an eyebrow and shakes her head. She unzips her dress and wiggles out of it. She goes through her suitcase and pulls out a t-shirt. She flips it over to find the front before putting it on but Brittany snatches it away with the words, "Fuck it," being said clearly before tossing the shirt back into the suitcase and Brittany attacks Santana's lips again, pushing her backwards and removing her bra in the process. Brittany's animalistic behaviour is turning Santana on so quickly, she feels herself clenching her legs together as she gets pushed up against the dresser. Brittany slips her leg between her girlfriends' as their kisses get harder and hotter. Brittany's thigh hits Santana just right and she shudders and moans loudly into Brittany's mouth. The evening continues that way for a while. They end up having a few rounds of rough, hard pumping, heart pounding, sweaty, loud, sex in different locations of the room. When they finally make it back to the bed exhausted, they make love once more slowly, and gently. Brittany on top of Santana, with their fingers deep inside one another. Looking into each other's eyes, conveying as much love as they can through touch. Santana holds Brittany's arm with her free hand, slowing her down.

"I'm too close," Santana whispers as her eyes shut tightly trying to control her orgasm. "I want to come with you." She pumps her own hand faster and Brittany begins grinding down harder onto her fingers, rubbing her clit on to Santana's palm but not stopping her slow thrusts into the Latina. Brittany begins to whimper and soon her body begins to tense.

"Almost," Brittany whispers into Santana's neck after a few moments and lifts her head up again to watch Santana open her eyes and release her free hand as Brittany starts pumping faster to match the pace again.

Brittany leans in and gives Santana a weak kiss before exhaling into it as she starts to shatter. She leans her forehead against the sweaty tanned one under her. They look deep into each other's eyes and Santana lets out high pitch moan, and digs into onto Brittany's hot, sweaty back as she comes. Brittany lets out a breathy grunt as her body shakes and clenches around Santana's fingers as she grips tightly to the sheets when she comes almost exactly the same time. They both ride out their long, lingering orgasm until neither of them can move anymore. A flood of emotion suddenly hits Santana hard and her throat begins to tighten. She takes in a broken breath. Brittany quickly looks up at her with worry in her eyes. About to pull out, Santana shakes her head and stops her with her free hand again. "Stay," she sniffles. "Stay like this just a little longer," she says, loving the feeling of being this connected. Brittany nods and gently lowers her shoulder so Santana can press her eyes up against it. Brittany rests her own eyes on top of Santana's head and they stay in that position for a moment with no words. Brittany lets out a hindered breath then sniffs while pulling Santana in to her as tightly as possible. Santana knows she has been crying too.

When the tears have stopped, and both their bodies have calmed down, Santana is the first to pull out and Brittany follows. Santana exhales and groans a little at the feeling. Brittany hovers above her, biting her bottom lip. Her eyes red with tear tracks. "Are you okay?"

Santana nods, "Yeah, I just… I don't know what happened." Brittany slowly lowers herself so half of her body is still covering Santana's. She lazily reaches for the blanket and throws it over them so they don't catch a cold from the sweat and air condition mixture. Santana wraps her arms as tightly as possible around her girlfriend. "I just had so much emotion, so much love I had to show you and some of it couldn't be contained and seeped out through my eyes. I'm sorry, that was the first – I've never cried after sex before."

"Hey, don't." Santana looks up at the still red eyed girl. "I've never either but that…that was really amazing. I felt so much love, all of it and I feel exactly the same way. Seeing you like that was just my trigger, my release, and then my emotions began to flood too. I love you so much, Santana Lopez."

Kissing Brittany's chin, Santana snuggles in tightly, fitting herself perfectly against her body then whispering an exhausted "I love you too." That night, they sleep through the night incredibly well. Needless to say, they didn't end up going for their evening walk.

* * *

The next day, Santana wakes up in the exact same position she fell asleep in. Wrapped up in Brittany's arms, snuggled into her neck and one leg draped over her girlfriends'. Brittany's breathing is still heavy and deep. Santana leans back and pushes the blond hair away from her face gently so she can see her beautiful, perfect girlfriend in a peaceful rest but the movement must have woken Brittany up because she mumbles something that sounded like, "Mmm… S'nta'a, ah luh'f you."

"I love you too, Britt-Britt," Santana says more clearly. "Did I wake you up? I'm sorry."

Brittany shakes her head and kisses the top of Santana's head, "No, I'm still sleeping."

"Oh, I see," Santana says as she snuggles back into Brittany's chest. "Then I'll save my good morning kisses for later."

"I'm awake," Brittany responds quietly.

Santana chuckles before lifting her head and puckering for Brittany to close the gap, "Good morning," Santana finally says.

"It sure is a good morning," Brittany smiles into another kiss. "I love waking up like this. You're the best cuddler ever."

"Only second best, after you."

"I disagree."

"I disagree to the fact that you're disagreeing with me."

"I…" Brittany stops to think about what Santana just said and whispers quietly to herself, so quietly that if the room wasn't completely silent, Santana wouldn't even hear it. " _Disagree to the fact that… disagree… I disagree that you're disagreeing to the fact that… I'm disagreeing_ …" she pouts. "Santana, I'm confused now."

"Aww, babe," Santana pulls on the jutted lip and kisses it. "How about we agree to disagree?"

"I don't like the word _disagree_ anymore," she says with her eyes looking at the corner of the blanket.

"Okay, we won't say it anymore. I don't like that word either, especially when it comes to you," Santana says as she runs her thumb across Brittany's cheek. They make eye contact and Santana gives a small smile. Brittany gives one back in return and they hug each other tightly.

Realizing that they're still completely naked from the night before, Santana suggests they take a shower and go for a hearty brunch since they probably burned a lot of calories.

After a breakfast of waffles and whipped cream, Santana treats Brittany out to a mani-pedi at the local spa. They get their nails done and get their feet soaked in lavender water, scrubbed and massaged before they get their toes painted.

"What are you wearing tonight?" Santana asks as they slip on their flip flops and head towards the cashier to pay.

"I'm not sure, do you think I should go with a dress or pants?"

"Up to you, babe. I was thinking of wearing my black and red off the shoulder dress," Santana says as she hands the cashier her credit card.

"That's a dress?!" Brittany asks a little too loudly that the cashier looks up momentarily.

"Well, yeah. What did you think it was?" She takes her card back from the lady and tosses it into her purse. Brittany gives her a look and Santana rolls her eyes before digging her card back out and places it neatly into her wallet. Brittany trying to help keep Santana's purse organized after that incident with Puck.

"I thought it was a shirt. Like, a long shirt." Brittany takes Santana's hand as they walk out of the spa's sliding doors and down the sidewalk towards the hotel.

Santana chuckles and swings their hands between them, "It's a long shirt or a short dress. Same difference."

"How can it be the same if it's different?"

"That just means it can be both. Essentially they're the same, even if it _seems_ different."

Brittany purses her lips and pulls it to left and nods, "Okay."

"If you're not okay with it, I can pick out something different."

"No, it's okay. I might have to see what it looks like first. If you get hit on all night, I might end up getting thrown out of the club."

Santana laughs and tip toes to kiss Brittany's cheek before they cross the street. "The only person I'll let hit on me, is you."

Brittany finally breaks into a smile and nods, "Good!"

After an early dinner, the girls begin putting on their make up and doing their hair. Santana finally gets changed into her long shirt/short dress. When she looks up, Brittany is standing there in her bra and panties staring.

"Can I help you with something?" Santana smirks.

"You can help me with a lot of things right now," Brittany raises an eyebrow and slowly walks towards her girlfriend. "You look really sexy." She wraps her arms around Santana's taunt body and lightly kisses her lips, careful not to smudge their lipstick.

"Okay, but if I do that, just keep in mind that you might not make it to the club tonight." Santana rakes her nails up and down Brittany's bare sides.

"Ugh, you're making me really not want to go right now."

"Go get changed and we can continue this tonight." Santana gives her another quick kiss and when Brittany huffs and turns around, Santana slaps her ass before running into the washroom to make sure her hair is perfect.

When she comes out, Brittany is wearing a sparkly black top, black leggings, and heels. Santana loves it when Brittany wears heels because they make her legs look that much more irresistible. Her blonde hair is up in the high pony, showing off her delectable neck.

"Ready to go, M'lady?" Brittany says as she sticks her elbow out for Santana to take; which she does immediately with a goofy grin.

They take a taxi to the club and arrive just after 9. This is not your typical dancing and drinking club. From 6-10:30, there are tables out for dinner and drinks and then they start clearing out the tables while guests can go freshen up, or sit at the bar. Then by 11pm, the light dim and the music starts.

When the girls walk in, Vic waves them in and there is a table set for 8 people. Santana sits between Brittany and Vic since they are the only two she's actually comfortable with and then gets introduced to the rest of the group. Half of which Santana has never met on set. They order their mediocre meals and a few drinks to start. Everyone at the table is offering to buy Brittany a drink but Brittany tells them she would like them spread out throughout the night. She wants to remember most of their final night together as a group.

"Are you going to offer to buy me a drink?" Brittany whispers in Santana's ear after her second drink at the table.

Santana turns her head and whispers back, "Only if you're still up for drinks after everyone is finished. I don't think you want to get too wasted. Besides, I can buy you drinks anytime."

Brittany nods, appreciating her girlfriend's responsibility and reaches over to grab her hand under the table and set it on her lap.

"What's with all the whispering?" One of the guys with fluffy brown hair says, drawing attention to the girls as everyone looks over at them. "Why are Brittany's cheeks all red? Was it something naughty?"

"Take your mind out of the gutter, Davidson," Brittany says, "We were just talking about the amount I'm drinking and my cheeks are red because of these last two drinks you bought me."

"Another one for the lady!" Davidson yells out at the waitress, pointing to Brittany.

"No, no, no more for now, Buddy. Thank you, but I want to enjoy my night, not puke it out."

"Fine, then your lovely lady can have it."

Brittany looks over at Santana and Santana looks over at Davidson as he quirks an eyebrow. Santana shrugs and Brittany kisses her on the cheek thanking her for taking her drink for her.

By the time the music comes on, Brittany is already a pretty tipsy having drank three drinks and a shot during dinner, and another two shots at the bar. Santana is on a good buzz and definitely more sober than Brittany. Santana also having had a few drinks and shots, but having a much higher alcohol tolerance than her girlfriend. The girls are having a great time on the dancefloor and Santana can honestly say that she spent most of the night watching Brittany move rather than focusing on her own dancing (which was also pretty good). A taller guy comes up behind Brittany and starts dancing with her. She turns her head and smiles but then focuses her attention back on Santana and dancing. The guy gets a little too close and places a hand on her hip.

"Hey! Hands off!" Santana yells as she rips his hand off of Brittany.

"Woah, cool it, Lady. I was just having a little dance with your friend here."

"Girlfriend," She corrects him as she stands between the two. Brittany immediately buries her face into Santana's hair and wraps her arms around her waist as she continues to move to the music.

"Mhm, girlfriend," Brittany nods into her hair.

"She seemed to have been enjoying it," he points to an obviously tipsy Brittany.

Brittany then look up at him with squinted eyes and buries her face back into Santana's hair while shaking her head, "Nope! Was just dancin'"

"How 'bouts you dance your way over to the other side of the club?" The guys reaches out one more time and Santana sticks a finger up, "No mi gusta."

His hands fly up in mock arrest and he makes his way over to mack on another girl.

Santana turns around and grabs both of Brittany's hands, "Are you okay? I'm gonna go get you some water."

"I needa pee," Brittany slurs out, the alcohol slowly hitting her harder and harder. "N' I'm suh' hawwt," she drags out as she starts lifting up her shirt.

"Woah woah, nope. This stays on hottie." Santana quickly pulls Brittany's shirt back down. "Come on, we'll go to the washroom where you can pee and maybe cool off a bit."

Brittany gives an exaggerated nod and follows Santana to the washroom, clinging onto her for dear life. When they reach the washroom, there (of course) was a line up. Brittany is bouncing up and down, hugging Santana from behind, and whispering ' _I have to pee, I have to pee,' in her ear._ When it's their turn, and the furthest stall is available, Santana drags Brittany into the stall, helping her, and Brittany has her pants down before Santana even closes the door. While she's peeing, she takes off her top and throws it at Santana. "It's hot in here, babe. I don't want that on anymore."

"Well, you can leave it off while you pee, but you have to put it back on once we're done in here," Santana says as she leans against the wall and flips Brittany's shirt so it's no longer inside out.

"Whyyyyyy?" Brittany whines.

"Because, I don't want you showing your goods off for everyone to see. They're for my eyes only, remember?"

"Ugh," Brittany huffs as she wipes herself. "Fine, but that's only because I love you."

"And I love you too."

Once Brittany is finished and flushes, Santana hands her shirt back and takes a seat to pee while she's in there. Brittany fans herself with her shirt as Santana finishes, wipes, and flushes. She helps Brittany put her shirt (moist with sweat) back on and right away Brittany pulls her in by the waist and kisses her hard and deep. When they finally run out of breath and need air, they separate. "Ugh, I love you so much, Santana. Like, ridiculous. Can we have sex? Like right now?"

Santana quickly raises both eyebrows in surprise at the complete change of topic. "Although I would love sex with you right now, you're very drunk, there's a line up outside of people waiting to use this stall, and it's kinda of gross. I'm pretty sure I kicked a used pad into the next stall before you sat down, and I don't even want to know what that yellow stuff is on the back on the seat."

Brittany tries to take a look and Santana drags her by the hand and opens the door, not wanting Brittany to see it and throw up like she almost did. They wash their hands and head back out to the dancefloor. A few of Brittany's friends join them and they dance until Santana feels a need for water. Brittany keeps dancing with Vic and two others as Santana heads to the bar to get a bottle of water to share. As soon as the bottle is in her hands, she twists off the cap and takes a long sip.

"Santana?"

Santana turns her head as she puts the cap back on. "Oh… uhhh… _shit,"_ She whispers quietly, forgetting the name momentarily with all the booze in her system. "Duh – da – Dan – Dani! Hi Dani!"

"Glad you remember my name. What are you doing here?" Dani yells into her ear since the music is blaring.

"Just here to celebrate Brittany's final day on set this trip."

"Trip?"

"Yeah, I met up with her here 'cause she had to work. We're going back to Ohio in a few days," Santana yells back, constantly looking up to keep an eye on Brittany.

"No wonder you…" Dani says some words that Santana can't quite make out. The music is too loud, there are too many people at the bar, and she's trying to keep her eyes on Brittany; afraid of losing sight of her. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you."

"Can I buy you a drink?" Dani says louder, distantly in Santana's ear.

"No thanks! I've had enough for today."

"Come on, just one more drink with me."

"No, I really shouldn't. Thank you though."

Just then a friend of Brittany's approaches and taps Santana on the shoulder and she turns around.

"Santana, umm… Vic told me to come get you. He's having some issues with Brittany."

"Is she okay? I literally took my eyes off of her for five seconds. What happened? What's wrong?" Panic begins to set in.

"Nothing is wrong, well… she keeps saying she's hot and trying to take off her clothes. Vic is trying to hold her hands down but I think she's getting pissed."

Santana turns to Dani, "I'm sorry. I gotta go."

"Wait!" Dani grabs a hold of her wrist, "Why don't you introduce me to your girlfriend?" Dani takes Santana's hand as if to lead her back to the dance floor and Santana scrunches her brow at the gesture and shakes her hand off of her own.

"Umm… yeah, I'll take you to her. She's pretty far gone though, she might not remember you." Dani just shrugs and Santana leads the way, Dani gripping at the back of Santana's dress as if she's afraid she'll lose her way. Brittany is now dancing with Vic and no longer upset. She's swinging her head wildly and flailing her arms surprising well to the beat of the music with her eyes closed. She grips the hem of her shirt with one hand and begins to pull it up.

"Britt!" Santana shouts but Brittany doesn't hear her. "BRITT!" she shouts again, this time grabbing a hold of one hand.

"Hi schmoopkins," Brittany smiles then puckers for a kiss. Which Santana quickly obliges.

Brittany begins pulling up her shirt again and Santana quickly opens the cap of the water bottle and hands it to Brittany while pulling her shirt back down with the other. "Have some cold water, it should cool you down a bit so your clothes stay on, please. Also, this is Dani, I wanted to – um – officially introduce you, I guess?" She turns to Dani, "Dani, this is my girlfriend, Brittany."

Brittany takes a sip and lifts her hand up to shake when she finally focuses her eyes on Dani's face, recognizing her from the coffee shop. Her face turns serious for a moment as Dani shakes her lingering hand.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Brittany," Dani smiles.

Brittany's lips don't move from the top of the bottle as she nods, not taking her eyes off of this shorter blonde girl.

"I'm Vic!" Vic's interruption releases the tension forming between the two blondes as Dani shakes his hand as well.

Dani tugs on Santana's elbow and shouts something into her ear.

"What?" Santana shouts back. She's starting to feel irritated with all the touching and yelling. She only wanted to dance with her girlfriend.

Dani leans in closer and lightly presses her top lip onto Santana's ear as she loudly speaks a few words. As soon as Dani was finished, Santana can't take all the pressure anymore. At least to her it felt like pressure. Pressure building up inside of her from feeling too physically close to someone that's not Brittany, no one should be inside her bubble for this long. She feels suffocated, and tired, and the buzz has turned into a little bit more than a buzz, she feels pressured to do things she doesn't want to and she suddenly (out of nowhere) lets out a sob.

Britany tightens her grip on the water bottle and crushes it, throwing it to the ground. "Hey, back off!" Brittany stumbles forward and uncoordinatedly pushes Dani back, almost missing. Santana continues to cry, sobs racking up her body.

Just as Brittany is about to approach Dani again, Santana turns to the shorter blonde with tears in her eyes and yells at her, "No! You are wrong! She is perfect! She is the perfect size." She takes a few steps forward, pointing her finger at Dani as Dani takes a few steps back, shocked at what's happening. "She is the perfect height. She is the perfect blonde. She is my perfect Brittany. Not you! So, don't you go and say that she's not what I want because she is what I want and I love her and you're all up in my space and I can't take this anymore!" Santana screams out and turns quickly, shoving her face into Brittany's shoulder. She's crying so hard that her whole body is shaking. Brittany quickly wrapping her arms around her as best as she drunkenly can. All the dancing people surrounding them have stopped to watch the commotion until Vic shoos them away and tells them there's nothing to see and is probably best for them to continue doing what they were originally doing.

Brittany has her arms wrapped around Santana for a long time. Bouncing slightly to the music. Once her sobs have died down, she looks up and Dani is gone. Vic tells them that they should probably be getting home and that he'll hail them a cab. The girls say goodbye to the last two of Brittany's friends and follows Vic outside as he tries to wave down a cab. When he does, he gives both girls a hug and promises Brittany that he'll get in touch with her again soon.

On the cab ride home, Brittany's head is sloppily resting on Santana's shoulders and her arm loosely wrapped around her waist. She managed to fall asleep during the twelve minute cab ride to the hotel. Santana pays the driver and wakes up a very grouchy Brittany and helps her up to their room. Brittany, leaning all her weight on Santana on the elevator ride up.

Once they get back to their room, they kick off their shoes and Brittany attempts to flop onto the bed but Santana holds her up.

"Nope, just a few more minutes, baby. Let's get this make up off of you and change into something more comfortable."

"I'm hot, San!" Brittany whines again and stomps her foot like a child.

"Okay, okay, you can take off your shirt now."

Right away Brittany pulls her shirt off and her pants down almost tripping on her left pant leg but Santana is there to hold her up. "Love you," Brittany giggles when she falls into Santana's arms.

"Love you too. Did you want to take a shower? You got pretty sweaty today at the club. It'll cool you down and you'll feel much more comfortable."

"Will you help me? I can't barely move my arms." Brittany lifts her arms up and lets them drop down fast.

"Yes. Yes, I'll help you."

Santana walks Brittany into the bathroom and manages to get both their make up off and brush both their teeth. Brittany just copying what Santana was doing as best she could. She helps Brittany into the warm shower before stripping down and climbing into the shower to join her. She helps Brittany wash her hair and lather up her body and letting the water cascade down her body, washing off all the soap. Santana can't help but watch the water slide down the silky smooth skin. Her eyes and body are tired but she feels a slight spark in her core when Brittany tilts her head back and washes the shampoo out while the water slides down every inch of her body. Santana's eyes follow the water from the top of the blonde locks down her neck, her chest, her stomach, down to her… She snaps her head back up and sees Brittany looking at her. She has no idea how long she was leering for. She realizes her breathing was heavier and that little spark has turned into arousal.

 _Fuck_ she thinks. Completely forgetting that alcohol makes her super needy and incredibly horny. She tries to shake it off since Brittany was about a millisecond away from falling asleep. When Santana is about to switch their position so that she can stand under the water, she puts her hands on Brittany's hips to move her and is suddenly pushed up against the wall. Brittany's lips are on hers hard, one hand cupping her boob and the other one between her legs.

"Open," Brittany says into her mouth and Santana does so. Brittany quickly feels for wetness, and when she does immediately plunges her fingers in.

"Oh fuck!" Santana almost screams out, pushing her back hard against the wall and her head hitting the tiles behind her. She grips onto Brittany's shoulder as she pumps her fingers into her quickly. Brittany's body is leaning up against hers; sandwiching her between her body and the wall also helping to keep her from falling.

After Santana quickly falls over the edge in a powerful orgasm, Brittany pulls out slowly and licks her fingers before smiling and kissing Santana oh-so-gently on the lips.

"I've been wanting to do that since the club," Brittany mumbles. "So sexy."

As soon as Santana catches her breath she lets out an airy, "Wow," and Brittany sloppily helps her wash her hair and body. They get of the shower and they help each other pat dry. Both their eyes starting to close. They end up sitting on the floor of the bathroom, blow drying their hair, since they do not have the energy to stand anymore. When Santana thought their hair was dry enough, she unplugs it and leaves it on the floor, pushing it to the side so they don't step on it in the morning. They make their way to the bed and wrap themselves in the sheets. Brittany clinging tightly to Santana, they fall asleep the best way they know how. Wrapped up in each other.

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Constructive Criticism? Please be kind.


	25. Chapter 25

AN: So this is the last chapter I will be posting until I get back. Probably not the best one to leave you guys with, but I promise things are going happen and new issues are on the horizon. I do have a request for my readers though. I want a cover for this story, since this is the first one I've ever written and it still makes me giddy that people are following it. Does anyone know how to make/create/design a cover? If you do, can you pretty please make one for me? If not, it's cool, I know you all have lives of your own too. I just don't know how to do it myself, or else I would. That silhouette head does nothing for my Brittana pride and joy. Anyways, enough of that... on with the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

Santana wakes up to the sounds of groaning next to her. She turns her body to face the noise and she sees Brittany with her arm draped over her eyes, the blanket pushed over to her side, and the sounds leaving Brittany's throat.

"Hey, Britt? Are you okay?"

"Headache. Too bright."

Santana rolls out of bed to grab a bottle of water and an aspirin before going to the window and closing the bigger set of curtains. "Sit up, take this little miss hang over." She hands Brittany the opened bottle of water and the little pill after she manages to get her girlfriend propped up against a pillow. Brittany takes the pill and takes a few gulps of water before sliding back down into bed and wrapping the blankets around her. Santana takes a sip of water herself before setting it down on the table.

"What time is it?" Brittany mumbles into the blanket.

"It's 7am," Santana answers after she looks at the clock placed on Brittany's side of the bed.

"Too early. More sleep."

"Yes, more sleep." Santana tucks herself into the blanket as well and Brittany wraps her arms around Santana's waist and shoves her face into the crook of her neck. Santana turns slightly to kiss her gently on the head and she sees Brittany's lips curls faintly at the kiss. Santana closes her eyes as well and she too drifts back to sleep.

When Santana wakes up for the second time that morning, Brittany's back is turned to her and she's mumbling something.

"Babe?" Santana leans on her elbow to check on her girlfriend. Brittany is gritting her teeth and her fist is clenched tightly against the sheets. Her eyebrows are furrowed and she looks like she's having a pretty bad dream. "Britt. Baby. Wake up." Santana puts her hand on Brittany's shoulder and shakes her slightly. "Baby, you're dreaming." Santana reaches over and places her hand down on the mattress in front of Brittany's chest so her face is hovering above the frustrated sleeping girl. She leans in closely and is about to put her lips on Brittany's temple, "Brittany, time to wake –"

"NO!" Brittany yells out and turns her body so quickly that Santana doesn't have a chance to react, and because of the way Santana's body was positioned and how quickly Brittany had turned, Brittany's elbow goes flying up nailing Santana on the side of the head.

"Ow!" Santana yelps and Brittany's eyes spring open.

"Oh my god, Santana! I'm so sorry." Brittany sits up quickly and head butts Santana's chin.

"Oof, Jesus, Britt." Santana's hand falls from her head down to her chin quickly.

"Shit, fuck. I'm so sorry." Brittany's hands go straight to Santana's face checking her head for a bump then her chin for a bruise. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry."

"Okay, okay. I'm okay. What the hell just happened?" Santana asked, not getting mad at her girlfriend but more confused about what had just happened in the first 3 minutes of waking up.

Brittany drops her hands. They're both sitting up in bed, hair flying in all directions, t-shirts twisted, and the bedsheets now in complete shambles. Taking in the sight of themselves, Santana starts to chuckle. "That was definitely not the most pleasant way to wake up," she says as she rubs her chin again.

Brittany starts to chuckle along with her, "I'm so sorry, Santana. Really. Everything happened so suddenly. Are you sure you're okay? Do you need an ice pack? … or two?"

"No, I'm okay. You didn't hit me that hard, it was more of a shock than anything."

"I can't believe I hit you," Brittany covers her face with her hands.

"Twice," Santana reminds her.

"Twice," Brittany repeats.

Santana takes Brittany by the wrist and pulls her hands down from her face. "Okay, so can you tell me what happened? I know you were dreaming, and it was obviously a bad dream."

Brittany looks away for a moment, trying to remember her dream that she was so abruptly woken up from. "We were at a club, except the club was outside in a parking lot. But there was a roof, so it was kinda inside, but also outside… it was weird. I was leaning up against a car, listening to the car radio that was playing all the dance music and you walked away for a moment. I began to panic a little bit and then saw that coffee girl approach you. You were far away and I tried to get to you but you kept on getting further from me. Then suddenly the two of you were dancing on top of a bus. But it was a short bus, and it only went up to my shoulders. So I climbed up onto it and tried stand between you two so I could dance with you but then she pushed me off . Somehow you were then standing about 10 feet away, sitting in a chair as if you've been waiting for me, and coffee girl was restraining me from behind. I couldn't pull away from her. Then she stuck her face next to mine and was about to say something and that's when I woke up."

"Wow, intense dream," Santana said as she took Brittany's hand in hers and stroked the back of her hand with her thumb.

"Yeah, I didn't like it one bit."

"But it's just a dream, and I'm here, and I'm yours." Santana leans in and Brittany closes the gap with her lips. "Speaking of her, what happened to her last night?"

"To be honest? I have no idea. I remember getting mad at her then you started crying then everything kinda blurred."

They both sit in silence trying to wrack their brains for any hints of what happened the night before.

They both hear a beep and Brittany walks to the corner of the room to retrieve her cellphone. She has no idea how it had gotten there.

"Who is it?"

"It's a text from Vic. He asked how I was feeling and if you're okay."

"Help me thank him for everything. If it wasn't for him, I don't think we would have been able to get back."

"Okay," Brittany texts out a message.

While Brittany is texting Vic, Santana also checks her phone and responding to a text from Kurt asking if he can stay at her apartment again sometime next month. She easily replied with a simple _No._ Then she thinks about it and that would give her the perfect excuse to stay over at Brittany's and she quickly sends another text. _We'll see. Maybe I'll let you rent it._ She shoots out a text to Rachel and Mercedes, letting them know she will be back in town soon.

She looks up at Brittany and her bright blue eyes are wide open. Brittany, sensing she's being looked at, looks up and they make eye contact before she looks back down at her phone.

"What happened?" Santana asks.

Brittany shows Santana her text exchanges with Vic.

 _From Vic_ : _Good morning sunshine. Hope you're feeling okay this morning and you're not too hung over. Is Santana okay? I'm not really sure what happened but she seemed upset._

 ** _To Vic: Morning Vic. Thank you so much for everything last night and helping us get back. I'm ok. Took an Advil. Santana is fine._**

 ** _From Vic: So… that girl that was with her. Was that a friend or an ex or something?_**

 ** _To Vic: Some chick that wanted to get with her from the coffee shop. What happened to her anyways?_**

 ** _From Vic: I knew she looked familiar. Anyways, did you forget what happened?_**

 ** _To Vic: I guess so... What happened?_**

 ** _From Vic: After Santana screamed at her and fell into your arms, you glared at her for a solid 5 minutes. When she took a step in you pointed your finger at her and shook your head. The girl put her hands up to surrender and turned to leave. Then you hugged your girlfriend for like, another 5 minutes. I thought you guys fell asleep._**

 ** _To Vic: Wow, it's all coming back to me. Geez. I'm a bitch._**

 ** _From Vic: No. Actually, I don't think you were. It was pretty obvious to me that she was trying to get as close to Santana as possible and that Santana was really uncomfortable. Like she was practically nibbling on her ear before Santana freaked out on her. I wonder what she said._**

 ** _To Vic: I have no idea. I'll ask her. Thanks again for everything. Love you lots. Hope to see you again soon? Come visit!_**

 ** _From Vic: I'm sure you'll come back to L.A. before I go to Ohio. Love you too. All the best. Tell Santana she better treat you right. ;)_**

 ** _To Vic: Will do. Xoxo_**

"Wow," Santana whispered. "You gave her the death glare."

Brittany pouts and nods, "I guess so. I do kind of remember having a stare down now."

"Badass."

"What did she say to you by the way? Before you went off on her?"

Santana could tell that Brittany was a little nervous asking her that question in case it was something she didn't want to hear. Brittany was picking at the edge of the comforter so Santana rests her hand on top to stop her.

"I don't quite remember it all," Santana begins, "But she said something about you being too tall and that I'd like her better? Or … Oh wait! I remember! She said that I liked medium blondes because that's what I always ordered, and she said you were too tall for a medium, and that…" Santana's face scrunches up before she shakes her thoughts away.

"And what?"

"Nothing… it's not important and so very offensive."

"Tell me."

Santana looks away and shakes her head.

"San."

Santana can't refuse Brittany, ever. "Ugh, She said …. after one taste of her medium blonde roast, I won't be wanting to go back to the bleach blonde tasteless drip. God, that's disgusting," Santana says with a genuine shudder.

"Wow," Brittany's face is emotionless.

"You know that's not true right?" Santana tries to seek some eye contact. "You know she was probably drunk too and was saying a bunch of bullshit right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know," Brittany bobs her head. "It's just… Wow. Is that how some people see me?"

"Hey, Britt, hey. I'm sorry. Those words didn't need repeating. I'm sorry. And no, people don't see you that way, of course not. That girl was drunk and she wanted to get me away from you – which, obviously, didn't and won't ever work by the way. You're amazing," Santana tilts Brittany's head up. "You're _my_ amazing girlfriend. And trust me when I tell you that a lot of people think so too."

Brittany sends Santana a weak smile, "It's okay, I wanted to know everything, and if she said that, I want to know it too. Even if it hurts me. She doesn't matter anyways right?"

"Right, she doesn't. I only want you." Santana leans in again for another kiss and Brittany accepts it eagerly. "Besides, there's no one else that can protect me the way you do. No one else that understands me the way you do. You're amazing, you're perfect, you're like…"

"A unicorn?" Brittany laughs out.

"Yes. You're like a unicorn Brittany. Magical. My magical unicorn girlfriend." The sincerity in Santana's eyes causes Brittany to genuinely smile and kiss her again.

* * *

The girls fly back to Ohio together Monday night. When they land in the Ohio, they have a driver pick them up and drive them back into the city since the distance from the airport to their homes were pretty far, but once the driver asks them for the destination address, both girls freeze, not knowing whose house they would be staying at or if they would even be staying over at one another's place or going back to their own home.

"Did you want to get dropped off at my place? I can drive you home afterwards… or… did you want to go home first? Or… like… just go home and I'll call you or you call me or… " Brittany stumbles to find her words.

"How about we go to our own homes," Santana starts and she sees Brittany's face drop immediately. "Then after I unpack my dirty things and take a shower, I'll head over to your place?"

"And stay the night?" Brittany smiles.

"Only if you want me to."

"Of course I want you to. It would be so weird if I didn't get to cuddle with you tonight."

Once Santana is home, she removes all her dirty items from her suitcase and dumps a load in the washer before going to take a shower. During this time, her mind is running around. She's thinking of so many things. _What it would be like living with Brittany for good. Would Brittany even like it? What is she going to do with her apartment? Should she sell it? They haven't been girlfriends for very long, is it too soon?_ She decides to keep her place for now and figure everything else later since this is still a big conversation she needs to have with Brittany and things are only going to get busier and crazier now that both of them are back home and working. Plus, she would need to go home every day anyway to check the mail in case a script comes in the mail for her.

After her shower and completing her laundry, Santana packs an overnight bag and takes her car over to Brittany's. Santana rings the doorbell when she arrive and in less than 20 seconds, Brittany opens the door wide with a smile.

"Hi, Honey!" Brittany beams and Santana walks in. It feels strange to her. This place is familiar but so much has changed since she was last here. She can definitely get used to walking into a house with Brittany greeting her every day. Owning a home with Brittany, that's definitely a thought that makes her smile. "You know you still have the key right?" Brittany's question snaps Santana back into reality.

Santana looks down at the car keys in her hand and attached to it is her house key, her storage key, her parent's house key, and the one with a little yellow heart on the corner of it, Brittany's key. "Right! I do and you can't have it back!" Santana says as she quickly throws her keys back into her purse.

"I didn't ask for it back, babe, but why are you keeping it if you never use it?"

"I would use it… I just… I like it when you open the door for me, then you get to be the first thing I see when the door opens," Santana says with a mischievous smile.

"Nice cover up. You could have just said you forgot you had it," Brittany rolls her eyes. "Come here," she pulls Santana close by her belt loop and gives her a kiss. She takes Santana's overnight bag and throws it over her own shoulders and walks upstairs with Santana following close behind. Brittany slows down when they reach the guest room and then stops to look in. Santana stopping behind her. "Remember when you slept in here?" Brittany asks.

"Mhm, you gonna make me sleep here again?" Santana props her chin on Brittany's shoulder as they both gaze into the room.

"If I do, I'll probably just end up here tonight too. Did you know asking you to sleep in here was totally against my nature of things?"

Santana chuckles against her shoulder and links both their right hands together, "What do you mean?"

"Well, the nature of Brittany wanted nothing more than to cuddle with Santana but she didn't know how Santana felt about it and didn't want to freak her out so she gave her her space."

"Well," Santana takes a hold of Brittany's hips and turns her around so they're facing each other. "Santana was a little bummed out when she had to sleep all the way down the hall from the girl who gave her goosebumps every time she so much as looked at her."

Brittany's cheeks redden in a blush, "Come on, let's get you settled in properly now." Brittany takes Santana hand and they make their way to the master bedroom.

* * *

The next day, they both had a list of things to do. Santana had to go back to her apartment to check the mail, she had to do another load of laundry, let Mercedes know she's back, and perhaps even tell her parents she's in a relationship and that she may not always answer her apartment phone. Brittany, on the other hand, had to go pick up Lord Tubbington from her parent's house, go to The Shark Tank to see what's happening there and if they need her to teach any classes, and check in with her own agent.

The girls have breakfast in comfortable silence and Santana is on her way out early knowing she has a lot to do and intends to get back to Brittany as soon as she can. She calls Mercedes on her way back to the apartment and she's told that they need another dinner together so she can finally talk about the mystery girl. She does another load of laundry when she gets home. She's folding the clothes from her last load when her doorbell rings. She opens it and there's a young man standing in front of her with a baseball cap, a messenger bag holding a large yellow envelops and a slip of paper.

"Santana Lopez?"

"That's me." He hands her the package and she signs the slip. The envelope has _confidential_ stamped on the front in large, bold black ink. The young man looks at her suspiciously. "I'm a secret agent," She looks at him, "A spy, if you will. I got daggers all up in my hair, wanna see them?" she's about to whip her head around and the boy just shakes his head and walks quickly down the hallway. She laughs and closes the door. She opens the package and sees the script for the upcoming movie musical. She skims through the pages and finds her lines already highlighted for her. She has a few speaking rolls, 1 solo song, 1 duet, and a few group numbers. She's happy with the amount of camera time she has. It's not too much, but it's not like she won't be noticed. Just enough exposure that anyone else hiring would probably know who she is instead of being known as _Damsel #1, or girl #3, or running girl 6._ Sure her part on Hammer's Time was pretty big, but it's not out yet, so until that movie is actually released, no one will actually recognize her from any roll specifically.

She sits down on her couch reading through her script when she finally decides she might as well get the news over with and call her parents.

 _"Santana!"_ Her mom answers the phone, " _You finally decided to call."_

"Yeah, hi Mom. How are thing?"

 _"Very good and you? Have you been getting enough work?"_

"I have. It's been steady for me."

"Oh, that's great."

Santana's conversations with her parents have never been too chock-full of information. They usually go straight to the point and accepted things the way they were. "So, I'm seeing someone now."

"Lovely, she's good to you?"

"Yes, she's very good to me."

"That's nice, honey."

There was a little bit of silence before Santana decided to just give her all the information she may need and get this awkwardness over with. "Her name is Brittany; she's in the film industry as well. She's a stunt double and a kickboxing teacher. No, she's not violent and she's very protective of me. She's super sweet and smart and…" She wants to tell her mom everything. That's they're in love, that she's crazy for the girl and flew to L.A. to see her, and that she feels like she's _the one_ , but her mom probably won't care about the details. "… and so if you need to contact me, call me on my cellphone, I might not always be home… date nights you know."

"Of course, I'm glad you're happy." Exactly what Santana expected. No questions asked as long as she's happy.

"I am."

Awkward silence.

"Well dear, your dad and I have to be off to another meet and greet now. You take care and tell Bethanny we say 'hi.'"

"It's Brittany. Thanks. Have fun."

They hang up and Santana falls back onto the couch. She reads through her script again and then finishes off her laundry. She packs a few items to leave at Brittany's house. Just as she's about to leave, her phone rings and it's the new film's representative. She has a meeting early next week for a run through of what's happening in the movie, she needs to get the sheet music for the songs she's singing, and they need to run through the lines. She still doesn't really know what this movie is about or if it's even going to be released in theatre, but hey, it pays well.

After a few hours, Santana finally heads back to Brittany's. Using her key for the first time, she enters the doorway and the first thing she sees is a big fat cat sitting on the couch.

"Oh, you're here," Santana mumbles.

Lord Tubbington looks at her but couldn't care less and goes back to rest mode.

She makes her way to the kitchen and sees Brittany hunched over looking straight into the mini oven.

Santana creeps up next to her and imitates her position while also looking straight into the window of the mini oven. "What's –"

Brittany jumps, "Holy green goblins, Batman! You scared me."

"You're the one that says I should use my key. This would have never happened if you had opened the door for me. And really? Holy green goblins?"

Brittany takes a deep breath in and releases, "I was scared and words just come out," Brittany shakes off her nerves a little, "This is just something I need to get used to. It's a good thing though. A very good thing." Brittany smiles and takes a few steps closer, wrapping her arms around Santana's waist and giving her a peck on the lips. "I've missed you today."

"I saw you this morning and we texted throughout the day," Santana says, "But I missed you too."

Brittany wraps her up tighter in her arms and as she releases notices the bag Santana is holding, "What's that? A gift for me? You shouldn't have."

"I didn't," Santana laughs and reaches down into her bag, "Unless you want my toothbrush, hair products, make up, hairbrush, deodorant, socks, a few shirts and pants, and a bunch of bras and panties."

"Mmmm… panties…" Brittany breaths out as she looks into the bag, "So, gifts for me?" She pauses, "No, actually, you not wearing any would be a better gift."

Santana laughs and slaps Brittany on the arm, "Stop it or you're gonna burn whatever it is you're cooking 'cause I'll take you right here, right now."

Brittany opens the door to the oven and it _dings_. "Not gonna burn, let's go." Brittany pulls Santana in roughly and Santana drops the bag. Their lips hit hard and Brittany quickly slips her tongue into Santana's mouth, causing her to moan and shiver. Brittany's hand start to roam downward when they both hear a _meow._

They stop where they are, Brittany's hand lingering on the rim of Santana's pants, their lips slightly parted but still touching each other. They look down and Lord Tubbington is waddling his little ass into the kitchen.

They pull away, both their cheeks pink and both feeling flustered.

"The sound of the oven must've made him think there was food," Brittany closes the oven door and pushes the button again, "Needs another 10 minutes anyways."

"What is it?"

"Fishsticks and fries."

"No wonder."

"None for you," Brittany says to the cat, but then opens the cabinet, pulls out a can of light tuna, pours half of it into a bowl, and sets it on to the floor. The cat quickly makes his way to it and gobbles it down. "I made enough for you too, by the way."

"Tuna?" Santana scrunches her face.

"Fishsticks," Brittany rolls her eyes.

"Got tartar sauce?"

"Of course."

"Sounds good." Fishsticks aren't usually Santana's meal of choice but if Brittany is making them, she'll eat them. "I told my mom about you… about us." Santana mentions when Brittany goes back to looking through the mini window.

"How did that go?" She asks quietly, focusing her attention back on the Latina.

"Non-eventful. She asked if I was happy. I said yes. She accepted it. That was the end of our conversation."

Brittany purses her lips to the side. "That's it? Is everything okay with the two of you?" Brittany asks after a moment.

"What? Yes, of course. I'm so used to it Britt-Britt. As long as she's content on my happiness, that's all I ask for," Santana shrugs.

Brittany nods and takes both her hands and places them on both of Santana's. They smile at each other, conveying love and understanding. Brittany knows that if things were really bugging her, she would say something.

"So, how was your day?" Santana asks.

"It was okay. I told my parents about us too, but they kind of already knew after Christy told them they Skyped with you. They kind of got mad that they didn't get to meet you, so I showed them a picture. They said you were beautiful by the way and I agreed."

"Which picture did you show them?"

Brittany takes out her phone and scrolls to a picture of Santana and herself walking down the street of L.A.; Santana's hair flying all over the place. "This one."

"What?!" Santana almost screams. "Brittany! That's a horrible picture of me!" She grabs the phone out of the blonde's hand.

"No! I love this picture! We're so happy and look at your smile. It's beautiful and your hair is so natural and everything about it is perfect." Brittany grabs the phone back before Santana can do anything to the photo. "It's one of my favourites."

Santana scoffs just as the oven timer goes off. Brittany grabs a towel and places their dinner on the kitchen counter. She goes to the fridge to grab the condiments while Santana gets some plates. They divide the fishsticks and fries and move towards the dining table.

"What else happened today? You went to the Shark Tank right?" Santana asks as she dips her fries into her ketchup.

"Oh yeah! I did. Finn says 'hi' by the way." Santana rolls her eyes. "They want me to teach the advanced classes again every Thursday night for the next two months. Apparently, Sue has something to tell me but we didn't get to it today. Something about them hiring a new instructor? Or a new manager? Or … I forgot. But I think she was waiting for me to get back from L.A. so we can all have a meeting together or something. Meeting will be next Thursday after my class. Are you going to join in on my classes?" Brittany asks with hope.

"The advanced class?" Santana takes a sip of her water. "Babe, I can barely throw a punch and not hurt myself. I don't think I can last in an advanced class. I won't be able to keep up. I'm going to embarrass myself. I'm going to embarrass you! Your girlfriend is a wuss."

"Hey. Stop it." Brittany says seriously and drops her fishstick. "My girlfriend is not a wuss. You may not be able to hit things hard, but you can slash people with your vicious words."

"Fine," Santana admits, "But that still doesn't mean I can join the advanced class. I'll just be keeping everyone behind."

"I'll go whatever speed I want, I'm the instructor," Brittany brags and smiles.

"No, everyone loves you because you're a hard-ass instructor. You can't go limp because of me. I'll tell you what, if you sub for any beginner or open level classes, or even do any self defense workshops, I'll join in, okay?"

"As long as you pay the drop-in fee," Brittany jokes and keeps her eyes on her fries.

"Even if I'm dating the instructor?"

"Especially if you're dating the instructor, since you're expected to get special treatment."

"Like what?" Santana folds her arms against her chest.

"Like… hmm… let's see," Brittany taps her chin in thought. "Oh, how about the teacher having to carry your gloves and water bottle to class because you refuse to carry a sports bag? Or how about you keeping a change of clothes in my staff locker because you can't leave yours there overnight? Or even better, the _instructor_ has to carry your sweaty clothes home and then has to give _you_ a massage because you're so sore from your work out?"

Santana giggles and sticks her tongue out, "You mean not everyone gets that kind of treatment?"

Brittany throws a fry at her and it falls right into Santana's cleavage. "2 points!" Brittany raises her arms in victory.

Santana pulls out the fry and eats it. "You didn't answer my question."

"Only for you, my love."

"Okay, so how much is the drop-in fee for the extra special treatment?"

Brittany leans her cheek against her fist and stares lovingly at Santana, "A hundred kisses."

"Done!" Santana gives a solid nod and leans over the table with her lips puckered. Brittany does the same. "One." Brittany is about to lean back into her chair when Santana pulls her by the chin in for another quick peck, "Two."

That night, as they were lying in bed, chatting about Santana's character in the musical, Brittany receives a text. She quickly checks her phone and her eyebrows scrunch together.

"What is it?" Santana asks and Brittany shows her the message.

 _ **From Quinn: I heard some rumors about The Tank. Not sure if they're true, but if they are, it's not good. Sue might be getting replaced. I really hope that's just a rumor because no one can run the place as well as she can. She's an organizational Nazi but she gets shit done. See you at the meeting on Thursday… will let you know if I hear anything else.**_

"What does this mean for you?" Santana asks when she hands Brittany back the phone.

"I don't know," Brittany replies and sets her phone back down. "She's been there ever since I have. She's really taken care of me and she's been really flexible with my schedule."

"I hope it isn't true either, babe. Let's get some sleep and not think too much about it. It is just a rumor for now anyways." Santana strokes Brittany's arm.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go to sleep."

Brittany turns off the light and Santana takes her usual spot in Brittany's arms and the girls fall asleep together, in Brittany's house, yet again.

* * *

AN: Sorry. Not too much context in this chapter. What's going to happen with Brittany and her job at The Shark Tank? Is Sue really leaving? How does this affect Brittany? Will it affect Santana too? Find out in a couple weeks when I return from my trip. Thank you for your continued support and I promise to write write write while I'm away. - Zie


	26. Chapter 26

AN: I'm BACK! Thank you for your patience and for sticking with me. I thought about finishing this story at the end of this chapter and start a part 2 for this story since a lot of other stuff is going to happen. I had a whole new issue I wanted to write about and I felt like it would make this story run too long and run off in a different direction, so I wanted to turn it into a story of its own. But after thinking about it over and over... and over again, I decided to continue this story right here. What do you guys think?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

 **BreadStix – 5:30PM**

By the time Thursday comes around, Santana has met with the director, a few writers, some crew members, and the rest of the cast (including Finn, Quinn, and surprisingly Sam – a last minute addition.) Santana has received sheet music for her songs and was expected to have the first song ready for rehearsal by Friday. It's Thursday night and Brittany has the big Shark Tank meeting with Sue and the rest of the staff, so Santana decided to have dinner with Mercedes that evening to catch up like she promised.

"I want to hear all about L.A.," Mercedes says as they hand the menus back to the waitress. "I'm assuming you're officially a 'thing' so you can tell me everything now. Go!"

Santana laughs and leans back on her usual seat. "Well, first off, yes, we are official now. Things were going really well here, before we made it official. Like, really well. But when she went to L.A. I started to worry a bit because her ex-boyfriend was there."

Mercedes gives a nod, "And you didn't want to lose her to him."

"Pretty much. So, I went there and well… here we are."

Mercedes approves and relaxes in her chair, "I never took you for being so spontaneous."

"Me either," Santana sighs. "But Brittany… She just does something to me."

"She really does. I've never seen you this happy before. You look like you're in love." Mercedes stops for a moment when Santana doesn't attack her for assuming things, "Ohmygoodgraces, is Santana Lopez in love?!" Mercedes screams out and then puts her hands on her heart.

Santana feels her face heat up and shrugs.

Santana tells Mercedes everything from the incident with Cody, to the fight in the restaurant, to coming back and living with Brittany majority of the time. Mercedes listens intently; only interrupting Santana once. Mercedes tells Santana about the man she is going steady with still and Santana promised she'd watch his band play one day and promised to invite Brittany as well so Mercedes can officially meet him.

Just after they asked for the check, Santana's phone buzzed.

 _ **From Britt-Britt: I'm home now. Meeting kinda sucked. Tell you bout it later. I miss you.**_

Santana pouted and sent a quick text back telling her she is about done as well. Santana says her goodbyes to her agent with a hug and hurries over to Brittany's house to see what's up.

* * *

 **The Shark Tank – 6:30PM**

Brittany had just finished her advanced class and is wiping her sweat and talking to one of her regulars when Quinn taps her on the shoulder and tilts her head towards the backroom. Brittany nods and quickly ends the conversation with the older student. She quickly changes out of her sweaty instructor's tank top into a plain grey t-shirt. Quinn and Brittany step into the meeting space and Sue is sitting there with a binder and a few bottles of water. She hands each girl one in silence and Brittany knows something is off.

Sue's phone goes off and she looks at the caller ID. "Have a seat, ladies, I'll be right back," She says as she stands up and goes back out to the gym side of the studio.

"What's going on?" Brittany asks Quinn as she takes a sip of her water.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I think Sue wants us to meet someone."

Finn walks in and grabs a seat as well. He notices the girls each have a bottle of water, and he too grabs one. One by one, the other Shark Tank instructors come in whether they are working today or not, and soon enough there are about 7 people in the room. 4 of them are seated (including Brittany and Quinn) and 3 of them are standing at the back of the room. Finn had stood up to let the yoga instructor have a seat. Everyone is talking amongst themselves when the door finally opens and Sue walks in. Everyone goes silent. Following her in is a man a few inches shorter than Sue. He has short dark hair that is swiped to the side. He's wearing thin framed glasses that's pushed up a little too high and he's wearing a white polo shirt, beige pants, and a pair of sneakers. The man has incredible posture and he walks with full confidence and a little arrogance. He is probably a few years older than Sue and has a bit of a gut sticking out. Sue offers him water but he declines and sits down. He pulls a can of Cola from his bag and cracks it open. All the other Tank employees and instructors look at each other in question.

Sue clears her throat and everyone turns their attention back to her. "Everyone, I would like you to meet the new owner of The Shark Tank, Kenneth Lowell." Kenneth stands up from his seat, smiles, and waves. However, the employees aren't really sure what is happening so they just begin to look around at each other again before Sue speaks and Kenneth takes his seat again; sipping from the can. "I have been offered a job to coach a travelling cirque show and I don't know when I will be back. If the show goes well, I may be gone for a while. I may even end up in Vegas if we get picked up, but from now until whenever, Kenneth here will be running the place. I am sure he will run it just as smoothly as I have with all your help. He has had over 30 years of experience running fitness centres, athletic clubs, and martial arts studios." Sue looks at Kenneth, "Would you like to say a few words?"

Kenneth puts his soda down and stands up, "Hi everyone. Thank you for meeting with me today. I will do my best to run this studio the way Sue has, and I intend to treat all of you will respect if you would do the same for me. I understand that it is hard for someone like me to come into such a close knit group, but I promise you, if you give me time, you won't even notice a change at all. Thank you, Sue for this opportunity. Does anyone have any questions for me?"

Sue leans back on her seat, her palms touching each other and pressed against her lip. She looks out to her employees and nods to them.

"When are you leaving?" Quinn asks Sue.

"Monday."

There are a few gasps and mumbling throughout the room.

"What other places did you run, Mr. Kenneth?" One of the Karate instructor asks.

Kenneth nods, "I ran a place downtown, I also taught in some Universities, as well as a few fitness studios in town."

"So, you ran them all at the same time?" The instructor questions.

"Heh heh heh," Kenneth has an airy chuckle, "No, no. In a span of the 30 years, I gained my experience by going to different places and instructing at different studios."

Brittany quirks an eyebrow at that. She knows that moving from one place to another isn't always the best. So he has either been fired from all those places, or they were doing so poorly that they shut down and he had to find a new place. She also noticed that he didn't actually answer the question but Brittany doesn't say anything, she just sits back and listens to what this new owner has to say; giving him the benefit of doubt.

"And you will run this place the way it's been running all this time?" Quinn asks

"It would be like Sue never left."

This brings in a few nods from some of the employees, but the ones with more experience are still skeptical. After the room is silent for a few awkward moments, Sue stands up and shakes Kenneth's hand. They leave the meeting room but Sue holds Brittany back. Once everyone is out, Sue closes the door.

Sue turns her body completely and faces Brittany with sincere eyes, "Brittany, I know your situation with The Tank is a little bit different from everyone else. You have other jobs that take you all over the place and you're not always here. I have explained your situation with Kenneth and he is completely fine with it."

Brittany nods, "So, that's it? You're gone? You won't have anything to do with this place anymore?"

Sue shakes her head, "It was a really tough decision for me, Brittany. I love this place. It's like my baby, but I needed to take this opportunity to grow and Kenneth was able to buy the entire company from me and at the first of next month, it will fully belong to him. This is a once in a lifetime chance for someone like me, running a tiny studio like this to coach an international show. You understand, right?"

Brittany presses her lips together and nods, "I do. I'll just… I'll miss you lots." Brittany goes in for a hug and Sue hugs back tightly.

"You're a good instructor, Brittany. A great one. Probably The Tank's best. This is why I let you teach whenever you can. I don't care if you're working out of town, shooting movies or a show, I don't care if you teach elsewhere to make extra money, but you are always, always more than welcome back here at the Tank."

"I'll never go anywhere else without your permission first, Sue. You've done so much for me."

With a few smile and nods, Sue opens the door for Brittany. Brittany gathers her items and is just about to leave the Tank when she sees Kenneth talking to Finn and a few other male instructors and employees. Brittany stands there and when Kenneth looks at her she lifts her hand to introduce herself. Kenneth takes her hand and chuckles his airy chuck and tells her he's happy to work with her before turning his attention back to the boys. Brittany sort of felt weird about it but shrugged it off. She said her goodbyes to Quinn and a few of the other instructors she doesn't get to see very often before leaving the studio. She doesn't have a good feeling about this. She gets home and texts Santana right away before taking a shower and waiting for her girlfriend to come home.

* * *

Santana gets to Brittany's house and rings the doorbell.

"You have the key, babe," Brittany says as she opens the door but realizes that Santana's hands are full.

"You didn't sound very happy over the text so I bought you some Rocky Road Ice Cream and some nachos with cheese dip, and some medium salsa since I know you don't like it too picante." Brittany's face lights up and gives Santana a quick peck before letting Santana set the items on the kitchen counter. "Which one do you want first?"

"Ice cream!" Brittany practically yells out.

Santana grabs two bowls from the cupboard and Brittany goes to grab the spoons. They scoop out some ice cream. Three scoops for Brittany, two for Santana. Brittany grabs the whipped cream and squirts a little on each of them before wiping the top with her fingertip and licking it off. She replaces the cap and returns the cream to the fridge while Santana throws the rest of the ice cream back into the freezer. They do this all in comfortable silence. Santana knows Brittany has a lot to tell her when she stays quiet for this long. They each grab their bowls and sit on the couch. Brittany takes a bite and Santana can see her muscles relax.

"So?" Santana says as she turns her body towards her girlfriend and takes a bite of her ice cream.

Brittany sighs, "Sue's leaving. She's coaching some cirque travelling act show or something. We have a new owner now and… I don't know. It doesn't feel right."

"Aw, babe. I'm sorry. Of course it won't feel right. You've been with Sue for so long and she's run the Tank so wonderfully and to have some new person just come in must be hard. But what makes it not feel right? Who is this guy? Is he certified?"

Brittany twists the spoon in her ice cream for a while before taking another bite, "His name is Kenneth Lowell. We don't know too much about him. Apparently, he's had like 30 years of experience or something and I'm sure he's certified since Sue hired him."

"Sue hired him?" Santana asks. "So, Sue still owns the place?"

"No, wait. You're right. He bought it from her. I guess… I guess she didn't have to do a certification check on him."

"We can check him out though if you're having doubts."

Santana reaches below the coffee table and grabs the IPad. Brittany puts her ice cream down and sits closer to Santana as they do a Google search on the man.

"That's him," Brittany points out and Santana clicks on the link.

They both read through his online resume and past employers.

Santana reads aloud, "Owner of New Kicks Martial Arts Studio for two years. Where is that? I've never heard of it. I don't even remember coming across it when I was researching self defense classes."

"Aww, you researched self defense classes?" Brittany teased, "That's cute."

"That's where I found you, so shush," Santana slapped Brittany across the arm, causing the blonde to giggle.

Brittany gave Santana a kiss on the temple. "I've heard of it. I didn't hear many good things about it though. I think it closed down a while ago."

Santana nods and continues to read from the first page, "Taught at Lima U for 6 years as a recreational fitness coach, then was manager at All Time Fitness, Fit Galore, and Burn It Kickboxing Company. Other than that, not much else on the guy."

Brittany shrugs, "Maybe it was just the vibe I got from him. Maybe it was 'cause he cracked open a Soda during the meeting."

"Oooh," Santana nods in understanding, "You don't like it when people drink soda in the studio."

"I just don't get it. People are here to work out and you're chugging down how much sugar? It just doesn't look professional, you know?"

"I understand, babe, but you can't judge someone based on what they drink."

"I know, I know," Brittany sighs. "I don't even know him. I'm sure he's fine. Just wasn't a good first impression."

"You teach next week right?" Santana asked after they both go back to their ice creams.

"Yup, Thursday night again."

"So, you'll see how things go with the new guy."

"I guess so," Brittany sets the empty bowl down. "Anyways, want to watch a movie? I just wanna relax and get in some Santeddy cuddle time."

Santana smiles and stands up while grabbing Brittany's empty bowl. "Choose the movie, my love. I'll go get the nachos."

Brittany claps her hands and wiggles her bum while getting up to pick a movie. They end up falling asleep half way through the movie after polishing off half the bag of nachos.

Santana wakes up to turn the movie off and guides Brittany into bed where they can fall asleep properly.

* * *

After the weekend, the girls' schedule falls into some sort of rhythm. Santana has script read-throughs and voice rehearsals every Monday and Tuesday from 9am to 1pm and then she's on set Wednesday to Friday from 8am to 2pm. Brittany on the other hand meets up with Mike every Monday and Tuesday from 6pm to 8pm for open gym practice at their local parkour facility, helps with reception at The Shark Tank every Wednesday night and teaches the advanced kickboxing class every Thursday evening. Due to the scheduling of their jobs, the girls usually only get to see each other if Santana happens to stay over at Brittany's (which has been every night since they came back from California), after Brittany gets home from work or on Fridays and weekends. They did their best to make Friday their date night – with no interruptions, just Brittany and Santana one on one dinner and cuddle time. No errands to run or work to discuss. They leave those for the weekend.

"Guess who I saw today in class," Brittany asked Santana after her shower Thursday evening.

"John Stamos!" Santana responds quickly and with certainty.

Brittany raises an eyebrow and shakes her head, "Random much?"

"You told me to guess and I've been watching Full House reruns after work today."

"What a great show," Brittany reminisces, "But no."

"Jean-Claude Van Damme?"

"Okay, I'm just going to have to ask you to stop guessing. You're like, not even close."

Santana just shrugs.

"Your arch nemesis…"

Santana just looks at her. Brittany looks at her with wide eyes, waiting for Santana to say the name, but Santana just looks at her.

"You told me not to guess," Santana says with a smirk and another shrug.

"Ugh," Brittany huffs with an eye roll. "Cassie!"

"Oh," Santana says, "She ask you for a massage again?" she jokes but it backfires.

"Yeah, she said her pecs hurt from the work out so I gave her a massage," Brittany says casually.

"WHAT?" Santana screams out.

Brittany covers her ears at the sound, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" she laughs out.

"Not funny," Santana crosses her arms over her chest and glares at her girlfriend.

"Aw baby, I'm sorry," Brittany pry's Santana's arms apart and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "No, no massages. She just asked me a bunch of questions about where I was, when I'll be teaching next. Stuff like that… and I'm pretty sure she was looking around for you too."

"Oh really?" Santana quickly forgets that she's supposed be playing angry at her girlfriend. "How do you know?"

"Well, once I made eye contact with her she glanced behind me and then did a scan around the room before smiling at me."

Santana shrugs, "She can smile all she wants, I'm the one that won the bet," she says, eyeing her girlfriend for a reaction.

Brittany's jaw drops.

"Kid-ding," Santana sing songed. Brittany grabs Santana by the waist and throws her over her shoulder and Santana shrieks. "Babe, what are you doing? Where are you taking me?"

Brittany carries Santana into the living room and throws her onto the couch and straddles her. "So, I'm just a bet? You better take that back. Our sexy time is not a bet," Brittany says in a low voice; almost a growl.

"Take what back?" Santana feigns innocence.

Brittany's hands crawl up Santana's body and stops at her waist, "The bet."

"What bet?" Santana says with a giggle.

"Okay, that's it." Brittany goes straight to tickling mode and Santana screams in laughter.

"Stop! Stop! Brittany! Ah! Stop!"

"Nope too late," Brittany continues. Santana is thrashing around, trying her best to push Brittany's hands away. She gets a good grip on Brittany's left wrist but is soon ripped from it when Brittany decides to pin both her hands above her head with her right hand and continues to tickle with her left.

"Br- itt-neeeeeeeeeeeee, staaappp, pleeeeeeee," Santana screams. Her eyes are tearing up and her face is as pink as it's ever been.

Brittany stops so she can catch her breath. The blonde has such a huge smile on her face that her cheeks are actually hurting. "Had enough yet? Ready to take back what you said?"

"It's not fair! Your fingers are so long they wrap around both my wrists! Like freaking hand cuffs."

"Please," Brittany leans in so she's inches away from Santana's lips, "You love my fingers."

"That I do," Santana says seductively and slowly puckers her lips.

Like a moth to a flame, Brittany leans in and once their lips make contact, Santana blows a raspberry onto Brittany's lips. Brittany jumps back and releases Santana's wrist to wipe the moisture from her lips. Santana bursts into laughter and reaches forward to reap revenge and tickle Brittany. Brittany easily pulls away and pins them above her head again. This time with both hands. Brittany looks down at Santana, not smiling. She is suddenly completely serious.

"What?" Santana is confused by the sudden change in her expression.

Brittany shakes her head while looking into Santana's eyes and she feels everything Brittany is trying to convey because she feels it too. They are so awesomely in love. The thought of that causes the right side of Santana's lips to go up and that's when the curtain that is Brittany's hair closes around her and Brittany's lips hit her slowly but deeply. She slides her tongue on her bottom lip and Santana grants her entry with no hesitation. Brittany loosens her grip but Santana doesn't remove her hands. They keep their tongues tangled with each other until Santana slides her left hand out of Brittany's grasp and places it on Brittany's right hip. Heat is rushing through every single part of her body and she knows Brittany feels the same way considering the slow grind Brittany's hips are preforming on her stomach. Santana slides her hands to the front of Brittany's boxer shorts and slips her fingers under them. Her finger slides under Brittany and they both moan at the contact. Brittany moaning at contact of her swollen clit and Santana at the wetness she encountered. Not being able to maneuver her fingers much under Brittany's shorts while they're still on her and Brittany obviously trying to get off by rubbing herself on Santana's fingers, Santana tries her best to pull back from the kiss.

"Okay, okay, Britt."

Brittany continues the slow grind trying to follow Santana's lips. Brittany stops when Santana pulls her fingers out.

"Huh?"

Santana tugs at the elastic of the boxer shorts, "Off."

Brittany quickly strips herself out of her shorts and panties then works on freeing Santana of her T-shirt. Luckily, there is no bra to be removed. Brittany gets back into the same position and leaves a wet track on Santana's bare stomach. Santana grabs Brittany's left hand with her right and places it again above her head. The way Brittany had dominated her earlier on had been such a turn on, but this time, their fingers are intertwined. Their lips come together again and Santana slides two fingers between their bodies and slips them into Brittany easily. The kiss is deep leaving no space for air. Their hearts are pounding and Brittany is riding Santana's fingers at a slow, deep pace. She grinds herself as deep as she can on the Latina's fingers before raising her hips, only to grind back down again. Her wetness is traveling down Santana's fingers and into her palm and the back of her hand.

"Fuck, Britt. You're so fucking wet," Santana breathes out as she crosses her ankles beneath her, trying to alleviate some of the pressure building at her own throbbing center.

Brittany moans in response and begins to move her hips faster and harder. Santana can tell Brittany is having a hard time controlling her lips now so Santana begins to lead the kiss. She pushes her thumb up towards her girlfriend, pushing at the sensitive nub and the reaction she receives is everything she had hoped for. Brittany's body shudders for a moment before she continues to rock back and forth.

Brittany lets out a whine against Santana's lips. "San…" She whispers.

"Oh, God Britt," Santana breathes out when Brittany's free hand lands on her nipple and she begins to stroke it. Santana feels her arousal shoot up and begins to peak way too quickly. "Fuck."

Brittany grips tightly at their intertwined fingers and palms Santana's breast hard, she slams her dripping sex into Santana's hand and buries her face against the side of Santana's head. Her lips grazing the top of her ear. The sound of Brittany's wetness sliding up and down her fingers causes Santana's stomach to tighten. The soft whines and grunts Brittany releases into her ear causes her downstairs to clench.

"Oh fuck, Santana."

"Oh, Shit, Britt."

Brittany comes and wave to ecstasy fall over both girls. Santana's eyes shut and her grip on Brittany's hand above her head is as tight as the one Brittany has on her. Santana continues to slowly slide her fingers in and out of Brittany while the top girl continues to slowly ride out her very intense orgasm. Santana can't help her own hips from rocking slowly back and forth as well. Santana's lets out a shuddering breath and realizes that she just came. In her jeans. While fucking her girlfriend. With nothing touching her.

"Holy fuck," Santana says quietly as she pulls her fingers out of her girlfriend and wipes it against her own stomach.

Once Brittany catches her breath, she nibbles on Santana's ear lobe, "Did you just…"

"Yeah," Santana breathes out. Her face flushed with both arousal and embarrassment.

The embarrassment fades quickly when Brittany whispers against her lobe, "Fucking hot."

Brittany leaves a trail of kisses and soft nibbles along her ear, cheek, and lips. She releases their entwined fingers and shuffles back. Kissing down the caramel neck and chest. Brittany undoes Santana's jeans and slides them off with ease. She takes off her own top and Santana can see Brittany's chest gleaming with sweat and it's turning her on again.

"Slide up," Brittany directs and Santana does so her head is propped up against the arm rest of the couch. Brittany slides down her body, leaving a few kisses here and there. She settles herself between the brunette's legs and kisses her inner thighs. Santana knows Brittany can see the soaking wet patch on her panties when she lets out a breathy groan, "Fucking hot as fuck."

Brittany slides off the ruined panties and pushes Santana's knees up and grips her thighs. She kisses each thigh again, making her way to the center when she spreads Santana's legs wider and takes a light but long stroke with the flat of her tongue against Santana's clit, her moan is uncontrollable.

Brittany slowly slides two fingers into her and slowly begins to pump but not stopping the long strokes and circles she's making with her tongue.

"Britt. Oh God, that's fucking good. So fucking good."

She can't see it but she knows Brittany just smiled against her pussy. Her build up started off slow, but begins to increase quickly when Brittany sucks gently. Her legs are starting to tremble and shift but Brittany holds on tightly with the hand that's not currently fucking her.

Santana can't help but buck her hips and raise her lower back when she feels her body begin to climb. She begins to tug on Brittany's hair and claws at the couch with her other hand.

Brittany speeds up her fingers as she sucks a bit harder while drawing circle and pushing at her nub with her tongue. That feeling knocks Santana over the edge and she screams out.

"Holy Shit!" she shrieks and she grips tightly into the blonde nest she made on top of Brittany's head. Her free hand pulling at the arm rest as best she can. Her body tightening and convulsing making it hard for her to breathe. Her heels digging into the cushions and her toes curled in. Once Brittany slows down and Santana can breathe again she slowly drops her hips back onto the couch as Brittany cleans her up. She pulls her fingers out and cleans those with her tongue too. Finally, Brittany makes her way back up and kisses Santana lightly on the lips.

"You're hot," Brittany says.

"You taste like pussy," Santana chuckles.

"Delicious pussy."

Santana hugs Brittany and Brittany eases herself on top of her bare naked girlfriend.

"Mmm…" Santana hums out. "Let's just sleep here."

"You're gonna catch a cold," Brittany says.

"So worth it."

Brittany laughs, "Don't be silly."

"Can't move."

"Okay, we'll stay here a bit. Then we're going to the bedroom so we can cuddle under the blankets."

A few minutes of cuddling and they both begin to feel the chill. Brittany guides Santana up the stairs, leaving everything else in the living room to be picked up the next day. They finally make their way into the bedroom and they cuddle into each other, just the way they are. Skin on skin.

* * *

The next morning, they're woken by Brittany's cellphone going off by the dresser on the other side of the room. Brittany must have left it there after her shower the night before.

Brittany clears her throat a few times before answering the phone, "Hello?" Santana snuggles into Brittany's side of the bed when she's jolted up with a loud, "WHAT? NOW?"

"Who is it? What happened?" Santana asks frantic as she looks around the room.

"Okay, Okay, I just woke up. Give me a moment!" Brittany hangs up and throws her phone onto the dresser. "My parents and sister are here to visit."

It's Santana's turn to freak out, "WHAT? NOW?"

"Yes now," Brittany says as she rummages through her drawers. "Literally, they're outside. Get some clothes on."

"Clothes! Brittany! Our clothes are all over the living room!"

"Shit!" Brittany throws a hoodie and a pair of shorts at Santana. "Put these on." Brittany slides on a pair of orange sweat pants and a green Washington hoodie she got at a Martial Arts competition.

"I'm swimming in your clothes Britt!"

"You look cute!" Brittany gives her a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll clean out the living room, you get washed up."

Santana rushes to the washroom to make herself presentable for the first meet and greet she has with her girlfriend's family. She hears Brittany running down the stairs, obviously jumping down the last 4 or 5 steps (she always does that – even if she's not in a rush).

"Perfect! I have 2 minutes to get ready. Our sex stained clothes are all over her living room, and my hair is a fucking mess!" Santana says to herself. "Mr. and Mrs. Pierce, hi, please ignore the panties you're stepping on," Santana sarcastically says to the mirror. She hears the door open and Brittany exchanges words with her family. Then she hears someone running up the stairs, "Oh dear God, I hope that's Brittany." She says to herself.

"They're here. I stashed our clothes into the kitchen cabinet. We're gonna have to grab them before they expect us to make them brunch."

"What? Britt! How? And don't you dare leave me alone with your parents on our first meeting."

"But, I … San, the clothes."

"No!"

Brittany huffs, "Okay, okay. I'll just brush up and we can head down there together okay?"

Santana agrees and Brittany quickly washes up. She then holds Santana's face in her hands and kisses her lips. "Good morning by the way."

Santana just glares at her girlfriend. Brittany takes her hand and leads her down the stairs.

"This must be the girl we've heard so much about," Brittany's mom stands up from her seat on the couch.

"Hi Mrs. Pierce," Santana sticks her hand out to greet her, "Santana."

"Santana, it's very nice to finally meet you. This is my husband and Brittany's sister Christy whom you've met via skype."

"Hello Mr. Pierce," Santana shakes his hand. "Christy, nice to see you again."

Christy nods, "You're prettier in person." Santana smiles but then it fades when Christy asks, "Why are you wearing all of Brittany's clothes?"

"I – uhh – it's more comfortable than mine."

"Did you sleep here?"

"Yeah-huh, slumber par-tayyyy!" Santana shakes two invisible maracas in her hands.

Christy claps her hands in excitement at the thought of slumber parties and sits down next to her mom on the couch.

"So, Santana, Brittany tells us that you guys met at her self-defence class?"

Santana realizes that Brittany will never tell anyone she saved her from the mugger that frightful day.

"Uhh, yeah, we did. She's an amazing instructor. I learned a lot from her and it actually came in handy more than once."

"And you're also an actress right?" Christy asks as she sits switches to a cross legged position on the couch.

"Yes, I am. But nothing big. Nothing you would recognize me from. Just some background stuff and some small things here and there."

"So, like Brittany," The oldest blonde shrugs.

Santana nods and turns her head to where Brittany was standing and realizes she's gone. Panic suddenly strikes her when she realizes that she has been left alone with the three most important members of her girlfriend's family.

"I… uhhh… yes. Well – no, Brittany does way more badass things than me. I've seen her in action and it's pretty amazing the things she does. I'm – I just act. I just speak – I mean I act too, I don't just speak but like, the skills it takes for Brittany to do what she does. Not saying Brittany doesn't act too, of course she has to act. It's just the way her body moves is amazing… on stage – on screen…" Santana begins to ramble until she gets cut off.

"She's a great actress, Mom," Brittany shows up and puts a hand on Santana's shoulder to calm her down. "I worked with her on this one show, she played this super hard-ass lawyer and she was amazing."

Santana feels her body suddenly calm down when Brittany shows up. She turns to her girlfriend and smiles but then remembers that she left her after she said she wouldn't, so she glares at her instead. Brittany mouths a _sorry_ and takes Santana's hand discreetly. Since her family has taken the couch, she and Santana sit on the floor. Brittany hugs Santana from behind and Santana sits between her legs and leans her back into Brittany's chest. They chat for a good hour or so before her family leaves to go to Christy's softball game. They give each other hugs and her mother whispers something in Brittany's ear causing her eyes to widen and her face instantly goes beet red as she looks over to Santana who has absolutely no idea what's going on. Her mom winks at the direction of the girls before they say their final goodbyes, telling Santana it was great to meet her.

Once Brittany closes the door, she covers her face with her hands.

"What happened?" Santana asks.

Brittany walks over to the couch to where her mom was sitting and reaches between the cushion and the arm rest and pulls out Santana's red silk panties. "My mom said that you have very good taste in undergarments."

"Oh my God!" Santana quickly grabs it from the blonde's hand. "Your mom… Shit, Brittany! I thought you cleaned everything up! And how did she know they were mine? Why couldn't they be yours?"

"I thought I cleaned everything too, but… I guess I missed one," Brittany bites her bottom lip. "And, she knows they're not mine because I've never worn silk panties in my life."

"I've never been so embarrassed," Santana slumps down onto the couch and covers her face. "Great first impression. Mrs. Pierce, nice to meet you, I'm obviously sexing up your daughter. Thank you for finding my panties." She says sarcastically while shaking her head.

Brittany laughs and rubs her hand up and down Santana's back. "It's okay, babe, my mom doesn't even care about that. She's a very open woman."

"And you!" Santana turns around and slaps Brittany's hand away. "You left me when you said you wouldn't. You knew how nervous I was."

Brittany tries to bite back a smiles, "I'm sorry. I had to get our clothes out of the cabinets."

"They didn't even stay for brunch!"

"Because they got distracted by the conversations you were having with them. I think they really like you." Brittany smiles and kisses Santana on the shoulder. Santana smiles and is about to respond but Brittany continues, "Plus, your rambling was adorable."

Santana pushes Brittany and the blonde rolls over in laughter. Brittany grabs Santana and the both tumble onto the ground. They're tickling and pushing and wrestling and both stop abruptly when they see Lord Tubbington playing with something behind the couch.

"What the hell is that?" Santana asks as they both get up off the floor and walk over to the cat. Brittany picks it up and her face goes red once again. "What is it, Britt?" she asks again and tries to swipe it out of her girlfriends' hand.

"Nothing." Brittany hides it behind her back. Lord Tubbington is now disinterested and walks away.

"Fine," Santana turns away and quickly turns back and grabs it out of her hand. It's a box. A ring box. Santana's face goes serious for a moment, "Britt?" She doesn't dare to open it and holds it back out to her girlfriend nervously.

"It's not what you think," Brittany states right away and quickly takes the box back and sighs. She opens it and takes out a chain with a charm hanging from the bottom. "I got this in L.A. and I wanted to give it to you yesterday but I forgot with all the… fun we were having," she says with a smirk. "It must have fallen out of my pocket last night." She holds it out to her girlfriend, "It's nothing really. I put it in this box because I didn't have any other one."

Santana takes it in her hands and slides it through her fingers until she gets to the charm at the end. It's a gold heart with an infinity sign flowing through it; in and then out of the heart. Santana goes silent and her jaw drops.

"Do you, like it? Is it too early to be giving jewelry? I saw it and I thought of you immediately, so I just got it. I wanted to wait a bit longer to give it to you, but I just couldn't."

Santana finally looks back up to the beautiful blue eyes looking at her. The blue eyes that she will never get tired of. The blue eyes that look worried and anxious at the moment. "I love it, Britt," She says quietly and gently.

Brittany relaxes a little bit and smiles nervously, "I've never felt like I could love someone the way I love you. My love for you is forever and I will continue to love you to infinity. That is how I felt since I first saw you and this is how I will continue to feel for… well, for infinity. This necklace symbolizes everything in my heart whenever I think of you. Some people may think I'm crazy or that it's too soon, but I've always been one to act on something if I feel it and , Santana Lopez, I love you so very very much."

"It's beautiful, Brittany," Santana says with a tear in her eye. "I feel the same way. I love you to infinity too. Thank you. Can you?" She opens the clasp and holds it out. Brittany takes it and Santana turns around so Brittany can clasp it around her neck. Before she lets Santana's hair fall down, she kisses the back of her neck. Santana turns around. "How does it look?"

"Amazing," the look of adoration in Brittany's eyes are unmistakable. "I love you."

"I love you too, Britt."

* * *

Comments? Reviews?


	27. Chapter 27

AN: I just wanted to apologize for any bad or wrong grammar I have on here. I've never really been good in English class. I always have ideas but when I put them into writing, I know I'm doing things wrong. It might piss some readers off, and if does, I'm so sorry. I'm constantly trying to make sure I have all the punctuation and grammar correct but I know I'm making mistakes. Please feel free to point them out to me if you want. I do like constructive criticism.

There is a little bit of a time jump here. A couple months to be exact. I wanted to get started on something new and didn't want to fill the gap with nothing but fluff. Just thought I'd let you know. Enjoy!

* * *

 **2 months later** – Brittany had asked Santana to move in with her. Santana said yes but she's planning to keep her old apartment for now and slowly move into Brittany's house. She did not want to drastically call up the U-Haul company, move all her shit over, and change her address from every company, friend, and family member that has it. She was moving her stuff bit by bit until she had to take the step to make all the formal changes; she wasn't going to stress herself with this when she could be spending much needed cuddles with her blonde beauty.

The girls had just gotten back from New York after watching Rachel star in the Broadway play _Wicked_. Brittany and Santana met up with Kurt and Rachel, and ended up staying at their loft for the 4 days they were there. They had a great time sightseeing and Mercedes even told her that there are some commercials to be shot in New York if she was interested. However, she had to get back to Ohio to shoot the musical and Brittany had to get back in time to teach her Thursdays class, so she had to decline. For now.

Things at The Tank have been slowly declining. Kenneth raised the prices of membership and a lot of participants have been complaining but he just says it's to help renovate the studio and buy new equipment, but none of the employees have seen any of those changes yet. In fact, the Pilates instructor was let go because he had the audacity to question Kenneth's methods and then ask him why he drinks so much soda.

Brittany had just finished teaching her advanced class when Cassie approaches yet again. Cassie had not been coming to all the classes, but when she does, Brittany finds all her questions extremely amusing especially when she notices her always keeping an eye out for a specific brunette. This time, Cassie told Brittany she had a leg cramp and wanted her to help her stretch it out when Kenneth catches Brittany's attention and waves her over. Brittany quickly throws Finn into the mix and she offers his services of helping her calm her cramp. Finn had barely touched her and magically her cramp was gone. Brittany just shakes her head and continues towards the direction of her new boss.

"Brittany, can I have a few words with you?"

"Sure, Kenneth, what's up?"

"Sue tells me that you usually teach the self-defense workshops and I was wondering if you can do another one next weekend."

"Sure, I would love to," Brittany responded with a smile.

"Great! I will fly in this guy I have been in contact with and I'm hoping that he can join us in teaching the workshop. His name is Leigh Samson. If you could give him a hand that would be great."

"I – wait. I'm going to be his assistant?" Brittany asks with furrowed brows.

"No, no. Not his assistant. More like, a partnership. You guys can work as a team. That's okay with you isn't it?"

Confusion clouds Brittany's mind for a split second before she shakes it off, "Yes, of course it's okay. I would be more than happy to meet Leigh."

"Heh heh heh, I knew you were a team player, Brittany. I'll make the class for next Saturday afternoon at 1pm."

"Okay, sure. That works for me."

"Thanks," Kenneth pats Brittany on the shoulder with an extended arm and makes his way back into his office where she hears him pop open another can.

* * *

During dinner that evening, Brittany made spaghetti with spicy meat sauce. Santana started digging in when she noticed Brittany pushing her pasta around.

"What's wrong?" Santana ask before she wiped her mouth.

Brittany continued to push her pasta around, mixing it with the sauce, "Kenneth asked me to teach a self-defense workshop next Saturday."

Santana felt confused. Brittany loved teaching those workshops. She was always so passionate about them. "You don't like teaching them anymore?" Santana asks casually as she twirls some spaghetti onto her fork.

"No, I do, I really do, it's just that… I don't know."

Santana sees that something is obviously bothering Brittany and puts her fork down. "Tell me."

"I feel stupid and selfish."

"First off, don't say that again. Seriously, Britt. Don't. Secondly, why do you feel selfish?" Santana reaches over to stop Brittany from pushing her pasta around if she wasn't going to eat it. Stopping her movements causes Brittany to look up at her and sigh. She then puts her fork down as well.

"I'm not going to be the only one teaching it. He's going to fly another instructor in and we're going to work as a team."

"But u usually teach those by yourself."

"I know and it's not even a big deal. It just kind of feels like he doesn't trust me to run this workshop by myself and he needs to bring in another guy."

Santana sits for a minute. It's hard to get Brittany to feel differently if she's upset about something so she pulls out her phone, "What's this guy's name?"

"Leigh Samson."

Santana types in the name and she notices a few articles about the guy. She reads them in her head then out loud. "Leigh Samson is 23 years old. He has been a black belt since he was 14. He got his black belt at…" Santana's forehead scrunches up as she squints at the words. Brittany's leaning into the table waiting for her to finish her sentence. "Lima University… under the instruction of Master Kenneth Lowell."

"What?!" Brittany's hands immediately make a fist.

Santana looks up at her girlfriend and nods but continues, "He's been in a few commercials and was an extra in a movie but that's it. He's won many awards in open competitions, he won the national championship once but it doesn't look like… it doesn't look like he ever competed in any black belt divisions, it only says–"

"Okay, stop," Brittany begs as she licks her lips.

Santana looks up from her phone with a tight lips, "Britt."

"No, it's ok. I'm ok. I'm just… thinking."

"Hey," Santana says and gets up from her seat over to where Brittany is sitting. She hugs her from behind but Brittany doesn't move. She only relaxes a little bit. "It's going to be okay, Britt. You're an amazing instructor. Everyone knows that. You have nothing to worry about."

"I know. I know. I just…. I just hope I can prove to everyone that I'm still a good instructor even with Mr. National Champion teaching them."

Santana wraps her arms around her girlfriend tighter and rests her head against Brittany's. "Have some faith in yourself, please."

"Leeson!" Brittany pops up from her relaxed state and Santana jumps in shock. "I'm sorry," Brittany apologizes after she feels Santana jump back, "Leeson! I think that's who it is. Leigh Samson. I've competed against him before. He's good! He's actually pretty frikin good. I didn't think he was an actual fighter, more of a performance guy that flips around and stuff. Shit. He's beaten me before too, he has some crazy natural talent."

"That doesn't mean anything," Santana says and runs her fingers through Brittany's hair. "That doesn't mean he's a better teacher than you. It doesn't mean that he's more talented than you. It doesn't mean the members will like you any less.

"K," Brittany says, unconvincing.

Santana gives her a kiss on the cheek, "You'll be great. You're an amazing teacher. Please believe it."

Brittany nods and grabs her fork, "Let's eat before the food gets any colder."

They have a relatively quiet meal and Santana knows Brittany is overthinking the situation, and she has every right to. There is something very fishy going on at The Tank – no pun intended.

* * *

A week passes and Santana has been busy. It's Thursday morning and she's working on a scene with Quinn and Sam. Santana is on her break when Sam approaches her.

"So, you and Brittany, huh?"

Santana smiles at the mention of her girlfriend's name, "Quinn tell you?"

"Yeah," Sam says with a shrug. "I never would have guessed Brittany was… well, I didn't know she was into girls. And you! Why didn't you tell me this about yourself? But I guess I should have known since you weren't really interested in all of this," he motions at himself. Santana quirks an eyebrow but doesn't know how to respond to that verbally so Sam continues, "I should have saw it coming though. You two always had some sort of unspoken chemistry that everyone was able to feel. You guys are cute," He admits.

"Thank you," Santana says with a smile. "Everything just seemed to fit perfectly with her. It's been great."

"I'm sure it has been," Sam says. "Anyway, I should get back to Quinn and rehearse that last song."

Sam leaves and Santana digs up her phone. She and Brittany haven't seen much of each other this week since she's been busy at work filming, going to dance rehearsals, and doing vocal training. Brittany, on the other hand has been emailing back and forth with Leigh as they try to think up a lesson plan for Saturday's class. Well, Brittany has been doing most of the emailing, Leigh has just been giving her feedback on whether he thinks her suggestions would work or not. She assured him that all the years she has been doing it, it has worked and everyone has been having a great time and learning a lot, but he seems to think differently, even though he's really not contributing any new ideas, he just puts hers down. Brittany has been spending most of her evenings either training or researching other methods of teaching self defense.

Santana receives a text from Brittany.

 ** _From Britt-Britt: Nothing is going right babe. He's not helping at all. I'm going to throw my laptop out the window if he rejects another idea_**.

Santana frowns to herself.

 ** _To Britt-Britt: He's being a jerk. Once he sees the way you teach and the way everyone appreciates your teaching methods, I'm sure it will tear him down a few pegs._**

 ** _From Britt-Britt: Love you._**

Santana smiles and responds with the same message.

After work she gets home and finds Brittany has left early to teach her advanced class. Santana looks at the time and quickly changes into her work out gear, she grabs a water bottle and Brittany's spare gloves and leaves the house in attempt to surprise her Britt-Britt at work.

As soon as she enters the door, she is greeted by Finn. Not wanting to get Brittany in trouble, she pays the drop in fee and heads towards the matted area. Brittany has her back to the door and she's talking to a regular member about elbow strikes when she taps the blonde on the shoulder.

Brittany turns around and her face lights up a thousand watts.

"What are you doing here?" Brittany asks as she quickly goes to grab her hand but then remembers her professional mannerism and quickly slides her hand down Santana's fingers and lingers there before she lets go and places her hands in her jacket pocket to keep them from grabbing her girlfriend again.

"I wanted to see you so I decided to do a drop in," she says with a huge grin on her face.

"But babe, this is the advanced class," Brittany says as the student Santana had just interrupted slowly backs away awkwardly from their conversation.

"It sure is," she winks and Brittany's face brightens yet again and mouths the words _I love you_.

A few members line up behind Santana so they can talk to the instructor. Santana looks behind her and she mouths a _wow_ to nobody but herself. A lot of people want to talk to Brittany.

"I'll go get my stuff ready," Santana tells the blonde with a smile and turns around towards her sports bag so she can grab her hand wraps. When she gets her last hand wrap on (which took her quite a bit longer without Brittany's help) and goes to grab her gloves, she gets the feeling that someone is watching her so she looks around and sure enough another blonde is standing by the corner with her hand on her hips. When the two make eye contact, Cassie saunters up to her.

"You're back," the blonde says while wrapping her left hand.

"I am," Santana says with a nod.

"Where have you been?"

"Away. Out of town. Working."

"Out of town?" Cassie asks curiously and tilts her head.

"Mhm," Santana says proudly. "Out of town. On a trip. A little vacation."

Cassie looks up to where Brittany is then back to Santana but before she can ask any other questions, Brittany starts the music and everyone starts to jog around the mats. Brittany runs past the two girls and turns around while running backwards.

"Let's go ladies," She says with a smile and then a wink.

Both Cassie and Santana look at each other. Cassie, unaware of who she's winking at and assumed it was her. Santana, on the other hand, knew exactly who. Without looking back, Cassie sprints ahead and jogs next to Brittany. Santana shakes her head and follows the rest of the group.

During the entire class, Santana found herself entertained by Cassie's inability to sense Brittany's disinterest. Santana kept to herself and when they did partner punching, she partnered up with a smaller, chubbier, dark skinned girl. Cassie was right out front, trying to get Brittany's attention as often as possible and would glance back at Santana with a smirk every time she got it. Santana just tried her best to keep up. This class was kicking her ass but she was determined to finish it. Whenever Brittany passed by to check on everyone, she felt her skin flush just a little bit more. Her girlfriend was so hot, so talented, so professional, so fucking sexy. Brittany would sometimes walk by and place her hand on Santana's lower back as she spoke to her and she tried her best not to giggle.

When the class finally ended, a crowd of people went to talk to Brittany again. Most of them admiring her, but some of them actually asking questions as well.

Santana forgot to bring a change of clothes so she just removed her gloves, chugged her water and lay on the mats to wait for Brittany; completely exhausted but super proud of herself for completing the class. She knows everything is going to ache tomorrow.

"You look like death," Santana hears a familiar voice. She opens her eyes and sees a short haired blonde standing above her.

"Ugh, shut up. I can't even move," Santana groans and struggles to roll to her side so she can stand up.

"Looks like your girlfriend didn't take it easy on you this time," Quinn says and hands Santana another bottle of water.

Santana finally gets up on her feet and thanks Quinn before taking another big sip, "Please, she never takes it easy on me. I wouldn't want her to either." Santana follows Quinn to the desk where Finn is making a phone call.

Santana and Quinn chat while waiting for Brittany until Quinn's eyes flash up nods in the direction of the change room. Santana follows Quinn's eyes and see's Cassie following Brittany out of the change room and Brittany is observing Cassie's gloves.

"They're fine," Santana hears their conversation when they finally get close enough. "These gloves are a little lighter weight than the ones we usually use in class, but they're totally acceptable." Brittany hands the gloves back.

"Want to go for an after work out bevy?" Cassie asks while taking her glove back slowly.

All three of the other girl's eyebrows quirk up; Brittany, Santana, and Quinn.

"No thanks," Brittany says. "I have dinner plans with my girlfriend," She says with a smile. "Thanks for the offer though, maybe next time?"

Cassie glances at Quinn and Santana but they quickly go back to their own conversation pretending not to be eavesdropping. Not wanting to be defeated by Brittany's words, she seems to want to learn more and scope out Brittany's relationship. "Ask her to come too," Cassie adds.

Brittany bites her lips and tries her best to refrain from looking over to Santana, "I don't think she'll be interested to be honest. Thanks though," Brittany is trying her best to be polite but Cassie is being very pushy.

"It won't hurt to ask," Cassie says innocently while putting her hand on Brittany's shoulder causing Santana's jaw to clench.

"Okay, I'll ask," Brittany says with a shrug and walks over behind Santana and puts her hand on her hips and leans in to ask her quietly in her ear.

Santana shakes her head while looking at her nails.

"She said no," Brittany said apologetically and walks back towards Cassie.

Cassie's jaw literally drops and Santana gives a squinty smirk. Cassie gathers herself up and begins to walk to the door when she passes Santana she stops, "Well played Lopez, I guess you win, this time."

Santana is about to slap her for saying that but she controls herself and just speaks again while looking at her nails, "Not a fucking game."

Cassie huffs without looking back and storms out. Quinn begins to laugh as she goes through some paperwork.

The girls say bye to Quinn and walk out hand in hand back home.

* * *

Saturday arrives and Brittany is nervous. Santana makes her a hearty breakfast consisting of her favourite eggs, pancakes, and sausages, but Brittany just eats a couple bites of eggs and a quarter of a pancake then decides she's full. She doesn't even have lunch at noon and goes into The Tank early to meet her partner for the day.

Santana wishes her good luck and gives her a quick pick on the lips. Brittany gives a weak smile and leaves the house, while Santana works on her new lines for her scene tomorrow and Mercedes lined up a commercial audition for her as well. Santana keeps checking her phone in case Brittany messages her during break or whatnot, but gets nothing. 3pm comes along and Santana has still yet to receive any messages. She texts Brittany asking her how class went, but she doesn't respond, in fact she hasn't even checked her phone; Santana knows this because her message is still marked _unread_. She begins to worry and tries to call, but nothing. So, she decides it's time to call The Tank.

"The Shark Tank Fitness Studio, Quinn speaking, how may I help you?"

Santana would usually have a snarky remark when she hears Quinn be so professional. They have gotten closer since they've been on set a few times together and they both make bitchy, snarky comments to each other. That's why they get along so well. But today, Santana doesn't have time for that. She's worried about her girlfriend.

"Quinn, is Brittany still there?"

Quinn's voice softens, "Yeah, she's still here. She's um… she's working out right now."

Santana is confused. Usually if Brittany decides to work out after a class she would call or text her. "Is everything okay?"

"I…" Santana knows she's debating herself on whether or not she should tell her the truth, she would do the same and apparently Quinn and Santana are two of the same people. "I don't think so. The workshop didn't go too well, then Kenneth took her to the office to speak with her. I don't think I've seen her work out this long without a break."

Something inside of Santana begins to worry and panic. "Should I come down?"

"I'm not sure," Quinn answers honestly.

"Screw it, I'm coming." Santana ends the conversation before Quinn can stop her and she grabs her purse, puts on her runners and makes her way to the studio. She enters through the doors and sees Quinn sitting at the desk studying what she thinks is the song for Tuesdays' shoot. Brittany is alone at one of the heavy bags at the very back of the studio. Punching hard and kicking harder. She throws a few punches and hooks and follows up with back round houses from each leg, a back fist, a jab, another roundhouse and then a side kick sending the heavy back flying upwards before swinging back and Brittany lands a hard swinging kick that echoes in the empty room and makes Santana jump back a little bit. Brittany's hair is tied in a tight pony she's wearing only the wraps, with no gloves surrounding it, her once light grey tank top is now almost completely drenched with sweat, her ear buds are in and she's totally in the zone. If Santana were to jump up behind her, she would probably get knocked the fuck out. So she decides to just wait.

"She's been at it for a solid hour, non-stop."

Santana bites her lips at Quinn's words. "Is Kenneth still here?" she asks, looking around the studio.

"He left right after his meeting with Brittany. She stayed in the meeting room alone for a good 5 minutes before she came out, threw her wraps and music on and went to the bags. Some of her students stayed behind to try to talk to her, but I told them to leave or to ask me, because I didn't think Brittany was in the mood to talk to them. I just told them she had to train."

Santana nods and takes a seat in one of the waiting chairs She watches her girlfriend intensely, petrified about what had happened. This goes on for another 30 minutes when Brittany finally decides she has had enough. She gives one last swing of her leg and gives the bag a hard push as it swings back to her. Her breathing is hard and her hands are still clenched. She bends over to grab her bottle and takes a small sip; not enough to notice a difference in the bottle. She reaches for her towel and wipes the sweat from her forehead then her neck. She hangs the towel around her neck and turns around. As she's walking towards the change room, she glances over at the doors and makes eye contact with her girlfriend. She pulls out one of her ear buds and walks towards her. Santana stands up.

"What are you doing here?" Brittany asks, looking around to see if there were any other people left.

"I was a little worried," Santana hesitates and takes a small step forward. She's not afraid of Brittany, but she also knows that Brittany needs her space when she's like this. "You didn't answer any of my calls or texts, so I called the studio and Quinn told me you were still here."

Brittany nods but stops in her tracks, "I'm just gonna get washed up then we can talk okay?"

Santana nods and Brittany backs away a few steps before turning back towards the change room.

20 minutes later, Brittany walks out with wet hair, a fresh Shark Tank Instructors T-shirt, jeans, and a pair of converse. The girls say goodbye to Quinn with Brittany promising her to call her that night and update her on what was happening. They go home with Santana holding onto Brittany's hand, and Brittany lightly holding back.

When they finally get back to the house, Brittany sits on the couch and Santana makes her a mug of hot chocolate before taking a seat as well.

"I would ask if everything is okay, but it's obviously not so if you want to talk about it, I'm here," Santana says as she turns to her girlfriend. They're both on opposite ends of the couch, Santana looking at Brittany, and Brittany looking at the mug in her hand.

Brittany nods, but doesn't speak for a while. She just continues to look at her mug. Finally, she swallows, looks up at Santana then back down at her cup, "I'm sorry I didn't call you. I'm sorry I made you worried. I just had to use the bag before… before I got too angry."

"Okay," Santana says carefully. "I accept your apology Britt, but that's not the reason why I said I'm here to listen."

Brittany breathes in and then puts her full mug on the table and shuffles over to Santana. Automatically, Santana opens her legs and Brittany climbs in and rests herself under Santana's chin; her safe place. Santana wraps her arms around the blonde, stroking at her still damp hair

"How was the turn out?" Santana starts the conversation for her.

"It was good. Another full class. All the students were amazing. I had a great time teaching, like always, but…" Santana stops stroking the blonde locks and looks at her to continue. "But I didn't have fun at the same time."

"What do you mean?"

"I love teaching, I do. And I don't mind teaching the workshop all by myself, you know that." Santana nods. "Which is what I pretty much did today."

"What?" Santana is surprised, "I thought that new guy was going to be your partner, was he not there?"

"Oh, he was there. He did a lot of standing around with his arms crossed and talking to Kenneth."

"Did he do any teaching?" Santana asks, knowing where this conversation was going.

Brittany stops to think, "He did the warm ups with us... and… he corrected a guy's posture."

"That's it?" Santana raised her voice and Brittany cringed. "Sorry. That's it?" Her voice softer this time. And she feels Brittany nod against her chest.

"Yeah, that's it," Brittany's voice is soft and emotionless.

The room is silent and a few minutes pass before Santana's curiosity gets the best of her.

"Quinn said you had a meeting with Kenneth?"

Brittany sighs and nods again, "I did. I was talking to Leigh before class, you know, trying to make a friend – especially since I'm going to be working with him. I asked him how he likes it here and he told me that Kenneth paid for his flight here, he's currently renting a space for him to live, and apparently…" Brittany's voice gets louder, "He's getting paid so he can afford his own place… including today's workshop."

It takes a moment before it finally hits Santana, "Wait. He got paid today? Did you get paid?"

Brittany shakes her head and a Santana can feel Brittany's body tense, "No. That's why I went to talk to Kenneth afterwards. I didn't think it was fair, but all he said was that I never got paid for it before, so why should I get paid for it now? That I'm supposed to do it for the people, for the safety of the community, and not to make a buck. But I asked him about Leigh and he said that Leigh's a national champion and it brings in profit to the business to have his name as part of the studio."

"Did you tell him he didn't teach jack shit?" Santana is furious.

"No, I didn't bother. I know he's just going to defend him."

"Brittany, you can't let him get away with that, it's not fair to you."

Brittany sits up and looks Santana in the eyes. Santana can see how hurt and tired Brittany is. "I know it's not fair, but nothing is going to happen if I tell him that. Kenneth has already cut my pay, he'll fire me if I say shit about Leigh." That's something Santana wasn't expecting.

"He what?" Santana says gently.

Brittany's breathing harder and is getting choked up, "He fucking cut my pay! He said that if I'm not a full time worker, he's not going to give me full time pay." Brittany wipes her right eye with her palm. "He cut me a dollar a hour."

"Brittany, I know that you don't want to hear this, but I think you should quit, he's obviously not being fair to you and is trying to force you to leave."

Brittany snaps her head and sends Santana an icy glare, "You're asking me to quit?"

 _Shit._ Santana knows she made a mistake.

"I've had members that have followed me from the intro class to the advanced class and waited for me whenever I leave just so they can take my classes when I get back and now you want me to quit? I can't do that to them," Brittany sniffs and turns away.

"That's not what I meant, Britt. I know you love what you do, and I know they love you too, but if the boss is treating you like crap, you shouldn't stay."

"I can't help that I'm passionate about this, Santana, and I'm not going to just up and leave everyone who has supported me and followed me all these years just because of one asshole. You just… you don't understand."

Santana sighs. She hates to see Brittany be taken advantage of, but at the same time she knows how passionate her girl is about what she does. It's all she's ever known. Santana sits up and runs her hand up and down Brittany's arm to comfort her. "Maybe after a few more sessions, you'll know what you want to do. Kenneth doesn't seem like a good guy."

Brittany doesn't answer and is obviously thinking of Santana's words.

"I'm not leaving The Tank," is all Brittany finally says when she gets up from the couch.

"Where are you going?" Santana asks.

"I'm tired, Santana. I'm going to bed."

Santana watches as Brittany leaves and sinks back into the couch. She has no idea how to help her. She has no idea what to say to make her feel better. All she knows is that Leigh is useless, Kenneth is an asshole, and Brittany loves The Tank too much to leave it. She looks at the clock hanging off the wall. _It's only 5pm._

Santana stretches out on the couch and looks at the ceiling, trying to think of ways to help Brittany but her mind is blank. She ends up resting her eyes and falling asleep. When she wakes up, it's 10pm and her stomach is growling; that's when she realizes she hasn't had dinner yet. Brittany hasn't been back down either. She decides to skip dinner and goes upstairs. She walks quietly into the room and sees that Brittany is wrapped up in the blanket, and shakes her gently.

"Britt, you haven't eaten anything since you left for class today, did you want me to make you something?"

Brittany's eyes furrow and she just buries herself deeper into the blanket and shakes her head. Santana sighs and nods. She washes up and eases herself into bed. She slides herself behind Brittany and wraps her arms around her waist, being the big spoon for tonight. She feels Brittany relax under her touch. She kisses the tense shoulders and watches them drop in relaxation even more.

They fall asleep that night, with Santana holding Brittany and Brittany restlessly trying to ignore everything that's going on.

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Constructive criticism? Please be kind and thank you for staying with me.


	28. Chapter 28

AN: Great news guys! I've been writing a lot lately so a new chapter for you before the week is over. I'm so proud of myself! lol. Thank you for your continued support, patience, and amazing reviews! They really keep me going... you have no idea.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

Days pass and the tension in the house is building. Brittany remains relatively quiet most of the time and Santana doesn't know what to do.

Brittany is at the dining table eating a bowl of Lucky Charms and doing her morning Sudoku when her phone goes off in the living room. Santana is just about to grab her keys and head off to work.

"Britt, your phone is going off," Santana calls out.

"Answer it for me," Brittany responds.

Santana answers the phone then walks it over to Brittany, handing it to her. Brittany shakes her head but Santana shoves the phone in her face. Brittany sends her a frustrated glare and answers the phone. Santana only smirks. Brittany's face lights up and she begins snapping her fingers for Santana, asking her for a paper and pen. After she jots down the message and hangs up, she looks at her girlfriend and smiles.

"Someone finally got you smiling," Santana says as she brushes the blonde locks away from her partner's face.

"I'm sorry," Brittany takes Santana's hand and kisses her knuckles. "I'm sorry I've been such a bitch lately." Brittany stands up from her seat and walks over to the Latina. She wraps her arms around her waist and gives her a tight, warm hug. "Thank you for being so patient with me, I know I've been difficult."

"It's okay, Britt. I understand. So, who was that who made u smile, hm?"

"It was the Lima Liner. They want to do an interview with me after one of their guys did the workshop with me on Saturday," Brittany beams.

The Lima Liner was the only paid newspaper worth reading in the city. That was the paper that most people bought and read to start their day, it was the one with the most subscriptions, and it was the one currently sitting on their dining table. Brittany always did the Sudoku that sat on the bottom right corner of the back page.

"That's awesome, babe! I'm so proud of you!" Santana leans in for another hug and gives Brittany a kiss on the cheek.

Brittany turns her head and attaches their lips together. This is the first deep kiss they've had since the workshop. Both girls were on their period for a week, so sex was out of the question, and Brittany just hasn't been in the mood for anything else since. Not to say they didn't give each other warm brushes on the lips, lingering kisses on the cheek, or sneaky nuzzles and pecks on heads and shoulders.

Brittany's hand softly lifts Santana's chin and massages right under her ear as she slips her tongue into the mix. Santana wraps her arms tighter around the taller girl's waist she rubs her lower back. Slowly, Santana dips her hand under Brittany's shirt and scratches the skin there. Brittany leans Santana on the dining table until she's completely flat on her back.

"How much time do we have?" Brittany mumbles into Santana's mouth.

Santana opens her eyes slowly and turns towards the microwave to look at the time, "I was going to go in early to work on my vocals, but screw that, I have 45 extra minutes now."

"Screw… that…" Brittany nods and attaches their lips once again.

Santana is quickly aroused, it has been almost two weeks since they've had sex, and she's craving Brittany's touch. Santana rips Brittany's t-shirt off of her and her lovely boobs hang down over her own. Santana grabs one in her hand and kneads it while Brittany attacks her neck with kisses and licks. Brittany reaches under Santana's skirt and pulls down her black silk panties and tosses them on the chair next to her. Brittany kisses down her collar bone and drops to her knees. She drapes the skirt over her head and pulls Santana's hip forward and slides both arms under her thighs.

"Shit, you're so fucking ready for me already," Brittany says from under Santana's dark blue, knee length pleated skirt.

"Mhm, for you. Always ready for you," Santana forces out, barely able to control herself. She lifts her hips, urging Brittany to start.

Brittany dives in face first, dragging a long swipe up from her core to her clit.

"Fu-ck," Santana shudders at the pleasure.

Brittany works her magic and soon Santana's hips begin to rock. Her back arches, and she pushes herself into Brittany's lips. Brittany knows she's close so she puts more pressure onto her girls throbbing nub. She sucks and circles until Santana comes, digging her nails into Brittany's arm with one hand and pushing down on her head with the other. She's unable to grab the blonde's hair since her skirt is in the way, so pushing on her head is all she can manage to do.

Brittany finally pulls herself out from under the skirt, her hair is all messed up, her cheeks are flushed, and her lips are glistening with Santana's lady juices.

"God, Britt. I've been waiting for that for so long. Thank you."

"Thank you?" Brittany laughs as she leans up and kisses Santana's tummy before fixing the skirt.

"Mhm, thank you for being so fucking amazing."

Brittany laughs, "Well, you're welcome."

Just as Brittany is about to get up off the floor, Santana sits up from the table she's lying on and kicks Brittany over with the push of her foot to the blonde's shoulder so she falls onto her butt on the kitchen floor. Santana slides off the table and onto her girlfriend. She attacks her neck then her chest then her nipples with kisses, licks, and sucks.

She has been waiting to get passionate with her girlfriend for a while now and she feels a need to fuck her girlfriend. If she's a late for work, so be it, she needs this as much as she needed that amazing orgasm she received only minutes ago. She fucks Brittany, pumping fast and deep and hard until she comes, then she slows down to shower her with love before she makes her come again.

"Santana," Brittany grunts after she comes the second time. Santana is still rubbing her palm on Brittany's clit. "Santana, stop, I'm – I'm too sensitive." She bucks her hip and shudders every time Santana pushes up against her crotch. Brittany gives her a little push on the shoulder to stop her. Santana finally pushes herself off, leaving a trail of kisses on Brittany's cheeks and lips.

"Time for work," Santana gets up and washes her hands before sliding her panties back on. Brittany is still lying on the ground; a wet, breathless mess. Santana leans over and gives Brittany one last kiss on the lips, "I love you."

"I love you," Brittany mumbles. Santana gets up and grabs her purse. She checks the time. _Only 2 minutes late._ "Thank you," Brittany giggles still from the floor.

Santana turns around, "You're most welcome. And you should get off the floor before you catch a cold, or before Lord T sees you. You know how he gets when he catches us pre, post, and present sex."

Brittany just mumbles something incoherent to the human ear.

* * *

Brittany spoke with Kenneth that night about the interview since The Lima Liner wanted to interview not only her, but the place where she teaches and trains. She had to get Kenneth's permission to use The Shark Tank's name in the paper. Kenneth was more than happy to be part of it and was to be interviewed the same day as Brittany. Brittany would go first, Kenneth would join in, then Brittany would leave and Kenneth would finish the interview himself; to talk about the Tank and running it as a business.

The interview is going to be held on Wednesday, the same day Santana has to do a full day shoot, so unfortunately, she can't be there with her girlfriend.

Wednesday afternoon comes along and Brittany gets home just as Santana gets out of the shower.

"Babe?" Brittany calls.

"Bedroom," Santana shouts from upstairs.

She hears Brittany run up the stairs, down the hall, and into the bedroom. She sees Santana brushing her long dark locks.

"Hi, beautiful. How was work?" Brittany asks.

"Hey, yourself. It was actually kinda fun. Long day though. Sang a group number, got to be a total bitch to Quinn on set and I even got to slap her. How awesome is that? Other than that, just another long day on set. A lot of waiting around. You know the drill. How did the interview go?"

Brittany beams and sits on the bed as Santana finishes off her hair. "I think it went pretty good. They asked how long I was training, what movies and shows I've been in. Why I am so passionate about this art, who my idol was, what makes me such a great teacher, and stuff like that. They even asked me if I was in a relationship."

Santana quirks an eyebrow through the mirror and looks at Brittany with a smirk.

"And?"

"Of course I said I was, silly. I told them I was in a loving relationship with this amazing, supportive girl. To be honest, though, I think that was a more personal question for the interviewer. You should've seen his face when I said the word _girl_. It was quite entertaining."

Santana laughs and makes her way over to the bed and sits down next to her girlfriend; who is way more energetic than she is at the moment.

"How was Kenneth?"

"I think he was okay. When I left, they were talking about how he bought the tank from Sue, and how he's trying to make it the best training studio in the city and how he has some of the best instructors!"

"That's great, Britt!"

"Yeah, and he even bought me cookies during the interview."

"That's sweet. I just hope he says other great things about you. You are the best thing at the tank and everyone knows it."

Brittany blushes and shrugs, being way too modest for Santana's liking. But before Santana can tell her how amazing she really is, Brittany wraps her arms around her girlfriend and kisses her on the cheek.

"I've missed you today."

"I've missed you too."

The girls have some left overs for dinner and Lord Tubs gets a fresh can of tuna. Santana can barely keep her eyes open and Brittany can see that. She decides to send Santana to bed while she cleans up. The newspaper is supposed to come out the next morning so Santana decides to go to sleep early (also because she's tired as hell) so she can wake up early and bring the paper up to Brittany as soon as it's delivered at 7am. By the time Brittany makes it to the bedroom, Santana has already passed out completely in the center of the bed. As soon as Brittany climbs in, Santana automatically curls up next to her, not waking from her slumber.

* * *

The next morning, Santana is up early, or so she thought. She looks at the time and it's already a quarter passed 8. Luckily, she doesn't have to go to work today because they are only having the boys on set so she gets the day off. She turns to face Brittany's side of the bed but she is nowhere in sight. Santana could have sworn Brittany was in bed last night. She gets up and hunts for her girlfriend. She makes her way downstairs and finds her curled up on the couch with the morning paper sprawled open on the coffee table.

"Britt?" Santana calls out quietly and slows down her step. She's not sure if Brittany is sleeping or if something is wrong. Brittany doesn't answer so Santana calls her again while walking up to her. "Brittany?" Brittany finally looks up. She wasn't sleeping. Her eyes are awake and they don't look happy. Santana hates it when Brittany's eyes aren't sparkling their normal sky blue. "What's wrong?" Santana rushes over and sits down on the couch next to her; she runs her fingers through the tangled blonde hair. Brittany hasn't brushed her hair this morning, she must've been too excited to see her interview in the paper. _The interview!_ Santana looks at the pages on the coffee table and picks it up. She reads the article:

 _Lima Liner Showcase – The Shark Tank feat. Brittany S. Pierce_

 _After deciding on trying out a self defense course at a local fitness studio, The Shark Tank, I realized how much fun it could be. I learned so much that day, had an extreme work out, and at the same time had exceptionally enthusiastic instructors that really knew what they were doing. I decided to interview the instructor that stood out most to me, as well as owner of the Shark Tank to see what makes this studio different from the rest of them. Meet Brittany S. Pierce: One of the Shark Tank's most popular instructors and my personal favourite. Brittany is charming, fun, and extremely knowledgeable in self defense and in the art of fighting. She is not your typical blonde beauty and I am honored to have this interview with her._

Santana continues reading the interviews with a smile on her face. So many positive things are being said about her love, yet she does not seem happy about it. She glances over at Brittany and when she sees her sad eyes look back at hers, she continues to read. Santana's heart drops when she realizes how short Brittany's part of the interview was. It then goes straight to the owner and _the one 'who created it all'_ , Master Kenneth Lowell.

Kenneth comments marginally on Brittany's talent and teaching skills, but quickly goes about talking about the wonderful new addition to studio, Leigh Samson. He tells Connor (the interviewer) that he personally handpicked all his instructors.

 _KL: Oh yes, Brittany is a wonderful teacher. She has so much talent, and many take her classes. Unfortunately, with her busy schedule, she's only able to teach once a week, twice at most._

 _CC: Why is that?_

 _KL: She has other more important things to do. She has other jobs that are not a part of this establishment._

 _CC: Brittany mentioned she also works in the film industry as a stunt and body double, that is a lot of martial artists' goal in life, isn't it? We find that very impressive._

 _KL: It can be if that's what you like doing. Although that kind of job is not stable. It would be fantastic if she could join us full time, but we do have another talented addition to our Studio, Leigh Samson._

 _CC: Please elaborate._

 _KL: Leigh Samson is a world renowned martial artist and teacher. He has won numerous amounts of awards and is a national champion. He's one of the very best in this country and we are so proud to have him with us at The Shark Tank. I would like to say that I handpicked all of our instructors, so you can be confident that you are learning from only the best._

 _CC: I'm so glad to hear that and I'm so happy I was able to join this class. I hope more people get to experience The Shark Tank and I wish this studio all the best of luck._

 _KL: Thank you so much. Please call for more information on our classes and if you mention this interview you will get 15% off our month long membership._

 _So, this is Connor Cuder, signing off. Please check out The Shark Tank if you want to get your ass in shape or just want to learn from the best, and I can say from experience (and I've been to many establishments) that this is my absolute favourite. If you want a challenge and if you think you can keep up, take Brittany Pierce's class, I guarantee you will not be disappointed. This may be a male dominated sport, but this lady really proves that assumption wrong._

Santana is finished reading the paper but she can't stop staring at the page in front of her. She knows why Brittany is hurt. She was overshadowed by someone who wasn't even there, and Kenneth, well Kenneth was being a prick. He has no respect for Brittany and it is obvious by the interview that he only said those nice things because Brittany was the one to get the interview in the first place. Without her, he wouldn't be able to advertise for free in the Lima Liner.

Santana places the paper down on the table and scoots herself over to sit next to her girlfriend. She puts a hand on her back and gently rubs up and down, "Are you okay?"

Brittany shrugs.

"I'm going to go make us some breakfast, why don't you go wash up and it will be ready by the time you're finished."

Brittany nods and stands up to leave. Santana sits on the couch and watches as her most favourite person in the world drags herself out of the living room and up the stairs. Santana sighs heavily and makes her way to the kitchen to cook up some eggs and pancakes. Her mind can't stop thinking about the interview and why Brittany's part was cut short if she was supposed to be the main focus of the article. She thinks of calling the paper after breakfast to ask them about it.

The food is ready when Brittany comes back dressed in sweats and a t-shirt.

They eat in relative silence. It's really worrying Santana how sad Brittany seems over this. The Tank is supposed to be Brittany's hobby, she does it because she loves it, it shouldn't be causing her so much pain.

"Hey Britt?" Brittany looks up from her pancakes. "Would it be okay with you if I called the paper today and asked what happened with the interview?"

"Why?"

"Because it seems unfair. It was supposed to be your interview. It was supposed to be about your life and your time at the studio, not some fucker who isn't even here and who didn't do jack shit at the workshop. And it's definitely not about some douchebag that doesn't respect or appreciate your skills as an athlete or a teacher."

"I don't want to cause any trouble," Brittany says. Her voice is tired and her movements are slow.

"I'm not causing any trouble, Brittany. I just want to know why."

Brittany takes in a deep breath and sighs, "I want to know why too, but I don't want this to get back to Kenneth and then he'll think I don't have any respect for him."

"Do you?"

Brittany thinks about it and shrugs.

"You don't. You don't because he doesn't respect you either."

Brittany thinks hard about it. She squeezes her eyes together and scratches her temple. "Can I think about it?" Brittany asks. "I'm teaching tonight so, I'll see Kenneth and I'll talk to him and then… I'll tell you tonight?"

"Okay," Santana agrees.

* * *

Brittany spends the rest of the day in her room, claiming she's working on a new kickboxing regiment for the class tonight. Santana thinks she just wants to be left alone. She's a little angry at the situation, she knows Brittany loves the tank, but also knows that Brittany is hurting and that Kenneth is taking advantage of her. She's mad that Brittany can't choose herself over the studio. She's also a little bit mad that she had the day off today and Brittany spent most of the day in her room. She feels selfish, but she really wanted to spend some quality time with her girl. When Brittany comes down the stairs dressed in her Shark Tank t-shirt and holding her sport bag, Santana turns her head from the television to look at her girlfriend. The anger from not spending the day with her dissipates when she sees how much Brittany is struggling with the current situation. She looks very conflicted and Santana's heart hurts for her. When Brittany reaches the door, Santana can't help be let her know how she feels.

"Britt?" Brittany turns around with her hand on the knob. "I love you."

Brittany smiles, "I know." She then leaves the house and closes the door silently.

Santana hops on her IPad and tries to dig up shit on Kenneth to prove to Brittany that she deserves more than a piece of shit, but everything she finds is clean.

After an hour of searching, she decides she's finished, she wasn't going to find anything. However, the last link she clicks on points out the fact that he has a son. A son named Kyle. Santana decides to dig deeper and snoop further. _There's gotta be some dirt on the guy. Brittany can't be the only person he's been bullying._

She types in Kyle Lowell into the Google search engine and it links to his Facebook page. She stalks the page from photos, to videos, to newsfeed. Lucky for her, Kyle is a very open person, majority of his profile is open to the public. This is when Santana notices that Kyle is gay and is proud of it. He has photos with his boyfriend, his mother, and out of all 700 photos he has (yes, Santana went through all 700 photos), he has one with his father that he posted on Kenneth's birthday not too long ago. Kyle writes very elaborate photo captions but on this particular photo it says, "HBD Dad" which confirms the fact that he is, indeed, Kenneth's son. Santana notices that Kyle signs most of his more important status updates as _K-Pup_. So, being the nosy spy that she is, she googles _K-Pup_ and to her pleasure, he has a blog.

Santana spends a good thirty minutes reading his blog, from his latest one back. She scrolls through blogs about his birthday, his time in Vegas, and his trip to Mexico until she hits the jackpot. His parents are divorced. He writes about the pain he's in and how he decided to stay with his mother. Santana is so absorbed in her reading that she barely heard the door open and close. She sees movement coming from her right peripheral and finally looks up to find Brittany's squinty eyes.

"What?" Santana asks when Brittany doesn't move from her spot at the door and doesn't lose eye contact with her.

"Why didn't you answer my texts?" Brittany asks and drops her sports bag on the floor.

Santana checks the time behind her and her eyes open wide at what time it is. She then reaches for her phone, she was so absorbed with the blog she didn't even hear it vibrate. She checks it.

 ** _From Britt-Britt: Sorry for being such a grouch._**

 ** _From Britt-Britt: Are you mad at me?_**

 ** _From Britt-Britt: Why aren't you answering?_**

 ** _From Britt-Britt: :(_**

 ** _From Britt-Britt: Ok. I'm coming home now. I hope you're still there._**

 _Shit!_ Santana looks up at Brittany and sees sadness in her eyes.

"Oh Brittany," She stands up and walks towards her girlfriend to give her a big hug. "No, I'm not mad. I'm sorry I didn't respond. I was busy and lost track of everything."

Brittany hugs her back even tighter and when they finally break their hold Santana sees relief in those beautiful blues she loves so much. "What were you so busy doing?" Brittany asks.

Santana shies away and bites her bottom lip. She's a little nervous telling Brittany she's been spying on her boss. "Why don't you tell me about work first? How was class? How was Kenneth?"

Brittany tilts her head, "Why? What were you doing?"

Santana sighs and takes Brittany's hand and guides her over to the couch.

"Don't be mad, okay?"

Brittany hesitantly squints her eyes and nods, "Okay… what is it?"

"I did some research on Kenneth. He has a son and him and his wife are divorced."

"His son and his wife?"

"No, Kenneth and his wife."

"Okay."

"Kenneth's son, Kyle, is gay."

"Okay."

"I was just reading a few of Kyle's blogs. They're very artistic and the more I scroll back, the deeper these blogs get, they're like, his journal. A very public journal."

"Okay," Brittany doesn't get where Santana is going with all of this.

"Well, there's a reason Kyle stayed with his mother and not him, so I'm just trying to find out why. And I was in the middle of reading when you came home. That's what has had me so distracted since you left."

Brittany's brows furrow and she's picking at the edge of the couch. This makes Santana nervous because Brittany only picks at stuff when she's nervous or scared or has bad news.

"Okay…" Santana waits for it, "What else does it say?" Brittany scoots closer to Santana and looks at the IPad sitting on the coffee table.

Santana smiles and picks it up again as they both read through Kyle's blog/journal together and this is what was summed up from the 80 pages of blog the girls went through.

When Kyle was younger, his father tried to force him into Muay Thai, but when it didn't work out, he tried kickboxing, and when that didn't work out, his last resort was just to do katas (martial arts routines). That was when Kyle discovered his very first crush. He would sit and chat with this crush from the beginning of the class to the end of class. He hated training with his father. His passion was in theater, but his father refused to let him participate. He wanted him to be a man and to fight. Kyle on the other hand would rather write stories and plays, or even dance. He loved jazz. When his father grew tired of trying to train him, he left him at the gym whenever he worked to just sit there and Kyle saw that he had another favourite. Someone with talent and skill for the art. Someone who was passionate about what his father was passionate about. Someone who he knew his father would rather have as a son. This person's name was never mentioned though. Soon enough, Kyle got ignored whenever he was at the gym with his dad and unless Kyle wanted to train, Kenneth would ignore him. Eventually, Kyle started to act out. He was a teenager by the time he acted out and Kenneth would lock him in the office every time he did. It was embarrassing. Even his crush stopped talking to him because he was constantly arguing with his dad and he found it annoying. Kyle came out to his parents after he graduated high school and had a boyfriend. His mother told him she knew all along and she was so happy that she accepted him right away. His father, however, was a different story. He refused to admit he had a gay son. He was a fighter. A (self-proclaimed) respected master. There was no way he would admit to having a gay son. He got so angry he ended up fighting with his wife, blaming her for giving him a daughter instead of a son. He verbally abused both Kyle and his mother to the point where they both feared him. Kenneth went out and searched for other women to fuck. To love him and to give him a real son. Kyle and his mother ended up leaving him 2 years later. It wasn't until 5 years after his parents divorced and Kyle became a novice theater director and actually won an award in university for his work, that his father claimed him to be his son again. Not being able to deny his own father, he did what he could to forgive him. This is when he posted the one and only photo of him on Facebook. They still didn't speak much. Kenneth was remarried and Kyle only saw him on special occasions. Not much else was said other than a short poem he wrote for his father one day saying that he knows he will never have the son he wanted because he was never the father her wanted.

Brittany and Santana both took in a deep breath and looked at each other. Colour drained from both their eyes as Santana set the IPad down on the coffee table. They looked at the time. They were reading Kyle's journal for over two hours. He was a very good writer.

"Did you talk to Kenneth about the article today?" Santana asks, breaking the silence.

Brittany shakes her head, "No, I forgot. I got distracted with something else."

"What?" Santana asks curiously.

"Let's go for dinner," Brittany tells her. "I'll tell you then, but I'm hungry now."

Santana smiles and nods.

They go out for spaghetti and this is when Brittany decides to tell her about what happened at work.

"I got a call today," Brittany starts. Santana nods for her to continue. "It was from Sidekicks, a new fitness studio about 45 minutes from here."

"Okay," Santana puts down her water glass and gives Brittany her full attention.

"They read the interview and then they called the studio. Luckily I had just finished my class and Quinn handed me the phone because instructors aren't allowed personal calls at the studio anymore."

Santana frowns and jerks her head back. They were always allowed personal calls with Sue. Not often, but she allowed them.

"Since when?"

Brittany gave her a look and she understood that it was a silly question and waves it off. Brittany continues, "They offered me a job to teach kickboxing there as well. Kickboxing and whatever else I want to teach, perhaps a cardio class or even personal training. They told me the hours would be very flexible and they can go according to my schedule knowing that I may leave at any time for other jobs. They are also willing to pay me almost double the amount Kenneth is paying me now."

"More than Sue?" Santana clarifies.

"Way more than Sue."

Santana nods, "So what did you say?"

Brittany sighs, "I told them I would love to but I needed to talk to my current boss too. Out of respect for The Tank and Sue, not for Kenneth," Brittany adds in after she sees the agitated look on Santana's face. "I want to talk to Sue first anyways, but if they're okay with it. I would love to. Sure I would teach Thursday nights at the Tank still, just for the heck of it and because I love everyone I teach and I love all the other instructors there. I can give my office shift to Finn, and then I can work at Sidekicks the rest of the week to earn some money while I wait for another gig."

"That's a great idea, Britt! Congratulations!"

Brittany gives her a big smile and eats the garlic bread from the side of her bowl.

"I'll probably call Sue tonight then go in to talk to Kenneth tomorrow."

"I'm sure Sue will be fine with it," Santana says, cleaning the sauce off her plate with her own piece of bread.

"I think so too."

* * *

When the girls get home, Brittany calls Sue right away and tells her everything that has happened since she left The Tank. About her pay cut and the new hire. She deliberately leaves out the part about Leigh getting paid for the workshop and not her, because she feels like it's too much for Sue to handle right now.

Sue told her she saw the newspaper article and was happy until she realized what Kenneth had done and apologized on behalf of the studio, but Brittany knows it's not her fault at all. Brittany tells her about the offer Sidekicks has given her and Sue is completely supportive of it and will even give her a reference if she needs one.

The next day, Santana goes with Brittany to The Shark Tank to talk to Kenneth after work. Santana's throws daggers at him through her eyes knowing what kind of man he was. What a homophobic, abusive asshole he was. But he's still Brittany's boss for now, so she can't say anything she will regret; although she literally has to pinch herself not to slap the mother fucker across the face when she sees him.

The studio is quiet since the next class won't be starting for another hour. Quinn is in the change room cleaning out lockers and mopping the floor. Kenneth comes out, expecting Brittany and they stand by the front desk while Santana sits on the chairs listening.

"Mr. Lowell, I have a very important question I would like to ask you."

"Go ahead," Kenneth says as he walks away.

Both girls are taken aback but then Kenneth walks behind the counter to grab a soda, opens it, talks a sip, and walks back to stand exactly where he was; in front of Brittany. During that time, however, Santana noticed that he was discreetly eyeing her. Taking glances between his sip and his walk and she can swear he looked at her again before turning his attention to Brittany.

"A new fitness studio opened up just on the other side of town and they contacted me asking if I would instruct a few classes for them," Brittany starts out cautiously.

"And?"

Santana furrows her brows at his rudeness towards her girlfriend but she grips the side of the chair to keep her body from leaping up and nailing him on the back of the head with her purse.

"And… I was wondering if that would be okay with you. You know, to make a little bit more money while I wait for other jobs. I would stay here, of course and work for you on Thursdays, and if you need me to sub for the other instructors as well, I would be more than happy to. They are very flexible with my schedule."

Kenneth takes another long sip and burps a silent burp in his mouth. Santana can't keep herself from looking disgusted and Brittany is trying very hard not to make a face as well.

"Well, Brittany, you know I would give you more hours if I could, but I just can't depend on you to keep your days you know? And I would pay you more but that just wouldn't be fair for the other instructors," he lies. Quinn has told her that he's been cutting hours for a lot of instructors, mostly females.

Brittany nods anyways, "I understand sir."

"And you will still wear our colours and logos when we go to conventions or have performances to advertise for this studio?"

"Of course," Brittany says. She had already asked Sidekicks about that and they understand her loyalty to The Shark Tank. She will only wear their colours while teaching in the studio, not out of it. They would do anything to have her be one of their instructors. It's a good selling point for a new independently owned gym to have the famous Brittany S. Pierce teaching there.

Kenneth takes another sip, and it's driving Santana crazy. Kenneth seems to think about it, staring blankly at the top of his cola before looking up with a smile.

"Heh heh heh, well, Brittany, go ahead then. You have all my support," he says overly enthusiastic.

"Thank you so much, Sir," Brittany smiles and looks at Santana.

"Is this your girlfriend I heard about in the interview?" The man asks and points his coke towards Santana.

"Yes, this is Santana."

Santana stands up and out of politeness for Brittany and shakes his sticky hand.

"Heh heh heh, Santana, yes," Kenneth says awkwardly before he turns around and walks away, "Have a nice day ladies," he says with his back turned to the girls.

Santana looks at her hand disgusted and looks back up at Brittany, "It's sticky."

The blonde is trying not to laugh and quickly goes behind the counter to grab a wet wipe to give to her girlfriend before she takes her hand in her own and walk out the doors. Santana senses something fishy, but she can't put her finger on it. She believes her Mexican third eye is troubled, but she doesn't know why. She wants to tell Brittany, but she doesn't want to worry her or fight with her until she's sure about it. Maybe she just knows too much of Kenneth's history. Maybe he just gave her bad vibes. But he let Brittany teach at Sidekicks, so that's a good sign. Right?

* * *

Don't worry. Santana didn't forget about the interview she just got sidetracked by Brittany's new job offer.

Comments? Questions? Constructive criticism? Please be kind.


	29. Chapter 29

AN: I love that I have more time to write now. Thank you to the few of you that are still supporting my story. I love each and every one of you.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

"Here you go, Kitty."

Is the first thing Santana hears in the morning. She feels the bed shift and she turns around to face the motions. Brittany has lifted Lord T onto the bed since he can't jump onto it himself.

Santana groans and drops her hand onto Brittany's stomach.

"Morning, baby," Brittany says and rubs the back of Santana's hand. "Did Lord Tubs wake you?"

Santana nods, "Yeah, his weight made the bed sink and it caused me log roll towards you," she says seriously.

"Santana!" Brittany sneers while covering Lord T's ears. "Stop it! He's sensitive in the morning, just like you."

Santana is offended and turns away from Brittany.

"See! Just like you," Brittany is able to confirm Santana's actions while petting Tubs the cat.

Later today, Brittany is going to Sidekicks to familiarize herself with the studio and its people. She needs to tell them about the restrictions that Kenneth had given her. However, she has some time this morning to get in some cuddles.

"Time for cuddles," Santana hears Brittany sing and she feels Brittany's side of the bed move. "Cuddling is my favourite time of the day with my favouritest thing in the world!" Brittany says in a cute voice that she usually uses on Lord T.

Santana huffs and curls more into herself. Just as she's about to close her eyes and go back to sleep in order to ignore anymore cutesy words Brittany might say to that fat tub of fur, she sees the cat sneak out the door just near the foot of their bed. She turns around to see who Brittany was talking to and there she is; her beautifully blonde, sparkling blue eyed girlfriend with the most amazing smile ever is looking at her with the most fucking adorable smirk on her face. Santana squints her eyes for just a second at the memory of the insulting thing Brittany had just said, but gives in quickly. Not wanting to waste precious cuddling time due to their busy schedule, Santana makes her way closer to the middle of the bed and squeezes herself against the love of her life.

* * *

Brittany has to cancel her Monday and Tuesday night gym practice with Mike in order to teach at Sidekicks but Mike completely understands. He has a job in New York in a week anyways so it's not like she will disappoint him too much. When she walks into Sidekicks she is welcomed warmly by everyone. The owner's name is Eric and he is the one that is willing to give Brittany as much flexibility she needs. Brittany sits down across from him in the office and is quickly offered a bottle of water before they talked about the details. Eric was one of the nicest men she has ever met. He was fair and he treats his employees well. And the studio? The studio is immaculate, and Eric is so incredibly organized that even his spare gloves are lined up neatly on a shelf with a bottle of Lysol above it and some rags. He's a married man with two little girls. There are photos of his wife and kids all over his office. Brittany can tell he is passionate and eager to make this the best fitness studio in this part of town. He is off to a great start. Brittany tells him about some of the restrictions she may have and although she was able to sense disappointment in his voice, he understood. He understood that she loved The Shark Tank and was loyal to them. He understood that she had to represent The Shark Tank at conventions, events, and maybe even in future competitions or workshops. He understood that if The Shark Tank needed her on the days she is supposed to teach at Sidekicks that he had to find a replacement or cancel the class. Even with all those restrictions, Eric welcomed Brittany with a smile and a firm handshake. As soon as Brittany signed the papers to be a contracted worker for Sidekicks, the receptionist brought in a _welcome bag_ full of goodies for her. She received a red Adidas sport bag and inside she found a towel, water bottle, hand wraps, tank top, t-shirt, jacket, and shorts. Brittany's mouth dropped as soon as she opened it and couldn't have been any more appreciative of Eric's generosity.

After she left the office, she was shown around the studio. He showed her where the fitness equipment was, the first aid kits, staff lockers and washrooms, staff cooler where she can fill her water bottle, among other things. This was amazing. She was so excited that she took photos of all her gear and sent it to Santana as soon as she got home. Santana was off work early today so she wanted to celebrate her new job with her girlfriend today.

* * *

At rehearsal, Santana stood next to Quinn with headphones on finishing up their last song before the next read-through of the script.

"How's Brittany doing?" Quinn asks as both girls remove their headphones and set them on the stand.

"She's doing well. She is meeting up with Sidekicks today."

"That's great! Good for her," Quinn says as they walk out of the small room and takes a sip of water. They both sit down on a couch as they wait to be called in for the read-through.

Santana notices Quinn biting her bottom lip, "How's The Tank?" she asks knowingly.

Quinn shakes her head, "Let's just say, Brittany is lucky she found Sidekicks. Something is gonna go down but no one knows what. No one is talking about it because some people are actually okay with the changes, but at the same time, a lot of us aren't. I know Brittany got a pay cut, because so did I." Santana was shocked at that fact. Quinn works there much more than Brittany, but because she can no longer be there during the day, Kenneth doesn't think her schedule is flexible enough to deserve the higher pay grade. "I also know that Leigh got paid for the workshop and Brittany didn't. That's so fucked up." Quinn thinks for a moment, "Do you think Brittany can get me a job at Sidekicks?" she asks hopefully.

Santana sucks in a breath, "I don't know Quinn. You need to talk to Britt about that. Kenneth has been pretty… umm… strict with some of his rules."

Quinn nods in understanding, "I'll ask her because seriously, things are changing and they're changing fast. Do you know who's enjoying the changes though?"

Santana shakes her head.

"Finn, Jacob, Chris, Leigh, and that bitch Cassie."

Santana's jaw drops and her heart clenches at the mention of that girl's name, "What does Cassie have to do with any of it? The other four work there, I get it, and they all have cocks, but Cassie? That's a curveball."

Quinn looks at her as if she had just learned something new, "I didn't even realize all the people benefiting from the changes were men. Cassie is a different story. Apparently, she did a modeling shoot at the studio for a brand of sport bras and in turn did some free advertising for Kenneth. He loved it. She also buys him a 6 pack of Cola every Monday before the open drop in class. Ass-kisser."

"Wow," Santana breathes out and remembers to tell Brittany all of that. "But wait," Santana suddenly remembered something, "Finn needs some days off too. Like, he's literally here with us right now."

Quinn just shrugs and sighs, "Like you said, he has a co…"

"Are you ready for lunch?"

Both girls turn their attention to the male voice behind Quinn. It's Sam and he's making eyes at Santana's friend.

Quinn turns to look at Santana and she just waves her off, telling her to go with a sly smirk on her face, "Go ahead guys." Sam mouths her _thank you._ Santana can tell by their actions that they're going on a lunch date. She pulls Quinn back and whispers in her ear just for fun, "Like you were about to say, he has a cock." She winks at her and then lets her go. Quinn walks away blushing.

Santana ends up going home after the director told her that their other shot is going way overtime due to lighting issues and they won't get to her part today and to take the rest of the day off and that he'll see her tomorrow.

She goes back to her own apartment to do some clean up and pick up her mail. She feels like she should miss this place, but she doesn't. She loved her apartment, sure, but it never felt warm and cozy. Brittany's house though, now that's warm and cozy. While she's at the apartment, she makes the call to The Lima Liner. She tells them she has a complaint and asks to speak to Connor Cuder.

Apparently, Brittany's part of the interview was supposed to be longer. She was interviewed for 45 minutes and had 20 questions to answer whereas Kenneth's interview was only 20 minutes long with only 6 questions to answer. However, because Kenneth was the last to be interviewed, the fact that he was Brittany's boss, and because he owned The Shark Tank, he convinced Connor that his full interview be published and Brittany can have whatever space was left. Connor explained to Santana with a scared shaky voice that he was only allowed one column with a certain amount of words. Once he put in Kenneth's full interview, there was only so much space left for Brittany. Kenneth had told him that if Brittany's part was bigger than his, it would be embarrassing and that it would destroy The Tank's reputation and he would be to blame. Connor was obviously new to the Lima Liner and quite young judging by his voice, so instead of yelling at him, she told him that he owed Brittany a better interview in the future and he eagerly agreed.

When she gets home that day, she tells Brittany all about her little chat with Connor. Earlier in the day Brittany had agreed to let Santana call, she didn't care anymore and to be honest, she was a little curious herself. Brittany shrugged off all of Connor's reasons and excuses and said, "That's the way Kenneth seems to operate, I'm not surprised anymore." But what it _did_ give her was the opportunity to be noticed and contacted by Sidekicks, and THAT was well worth it all.

* * *

Weeks go by and Brittany is loving her new job at Sidekicks. A few of her regulars from the Shark Tank travel all the way to that part of town to take her class, but at the same time, continues to go to The Tank every Thursday for her advanced class. Everybody she works with at Sidekicks is great. Everybody is just as energetic as her, as passionate as her, and as friendly as her.

The Shark Tank on the other hand has been crashing. Crashing hard. People are starting to leave because the good instructors aren't happy, and the ones that are happy can't teach. Sure, they have skill, but not everybody can pass on those skills. Kenneth is stressed and has been taking it out on Brittany. He said that she needs to be friendlier and less strict to her students. That if they want to take a break that they should be able to instead of Brittany pushing them just that little bit extra before they can all take a break together. That has always been Brittany's way. Of course, there are a few exceptions: when someone feels ill, or is dehydrated. But if they're just tired or lazy, Brittany will push them just to the edge of their limit so they know how hard they can work and how much more they can accomplish, and then they take a break together, as a team. Everybody, and I mean everybody that takes Brittany's class appreciates it. They love her.

Leigh, on the other hand, gives up on a student when they don't understand it. He always asks them, " _What's so hard? I can do it, why can't you?" or "What don't you get?"_ and even _"There is no way it should take you this long to learn this move, I learned it when I was 7."_ That was the kind of teacher he was. Once he gives up on them, they give up on themselves and they end up sitting on the sidelines watching the rest of group work out and feeling like shit. Quinn had told Kenneth about that and that it is one of the reasons why so many members are quitting. She knows this because when they want to quit, it's her job to try to convince them to stay. Whether it's giving them a discount or asking them what to do to make things better. Lately, it has almost all been something on the lines of, " _The instruction here has changed. They're kind of making me feel bad about myself and I'm definitely not getting the same work out I used to with your new instructors. You guys need more instructors like Brittany. If she taught more classes, I'd stay."_

After Quinn mentioned this to Kenneth, he just chuckled his signature chuckle, and shook his head, "Impossible," he said. "That's a lie, Leigh is a great instructor! He learned from the best!" Quinn only bites her tongue and goes back to her place behind the desk.

One Thursday, almost a month after she started at Sidekicks, Brittany enters the Tank and is preparing for her class. She enters the change room early before everyone else gets there. Her class is the fullest out of the entire schedule and she always hits the maximum amount of participants so she needs to get there early before the crowd takes over the change room, but apparently, today, someone is just as early as her.

"Hey Britt-Britt."

Brittany shudders at the name because only Santana is allowed to call her that, and that ain't Santana's voice. She looks up at the other blonde and fakes a smile, "Um, what's up, Cassie?" She asks as she puts her jacket into her bag.

"I haven't seen your little brunette for a while, did she quit? Did you break up? Couldn't handle the pressure?"

Brittany scrunches her face, "No, she's been busy with work."

"Mmm, typical excuse," Cassie takes a step close and Brittany backs up into a locker. "If she doesn't workout regularly, I'm sure she can't keep up with you… physically."

"Excuse me?" Brittany squints her eyes at her. "Did you just…"

"Do you know who works out regularly and has excellent stamina and flexibility?" She pauses but not long enough for Brittany to answer, "Me!" She pushes Brittany in between her breasts right up against the locker as she said that last word.

Brittany pushes Cassie's hand down hard and holds her back with an extended arm against the spot right under her collarbone. "Cassie, stop. You don't want to do this. I'm in a very happy relationship with my girlfriend and you need to stop this right now or I'll have you removed from the premise," She says, trying to maintain some form of professionalism.

"Well, the toughest person here is you, Britt-Britt, and if you need to man-handle or 'woman-handle' me to get me out, please do." Cassie sticks her chest out towards Brittany and swings her chest sideways so instead of Brittany pushing against the center of her chest, Cassie's boob swipes across her palm and she quickly releases her hand and pulls it back. The speed of her hand and the shock Brittany was in caused her to forget there was a row of lockers behind her and slams the back of her hand against the hard metal behind her. Her knuckles hit the edge of an open locker and Brittany winces in pain.

"Stop calling me that, Cassie, and you need to leave. Now!" Brittany's eyes are mad and her neck is starting to turn pink from anger but just as quickly her eyes open wide.

Just as quickly as Brittany moved her hand back, another hand is placed on Cassie's shoulder. Cassie turns around and an open palm flies right smack into the side of her face. Brittany stands there in disbelief.

"Get. The. Fuck. Out!" A very raspy, very angry voice breaks the silence. "Now!" she yells.

Cassie holds her face; it has become bright red due to her lighter complexion. One can definitely see a hand imprint if you look closely enough. Cassie looks at Brittany, then at the brunette with fire in her eyes and quickly runs out of the change room.

"Santana," Brittany breathes out in shock, "That was…"

"I know," Santana says as she steps back, giving her girlfriend some space. "I came in to find you and I didn't even know what was happening but when I saw that look on your face I knew you weren't happy. And… and I saw her there and well, I hate her. So I just assumed the worst and… I'm sorry. I know she was your student and I - I have rage." Santana rambles and looks down at her feet.

"Oh, no no, Santana. No. Thank you for coming in. I was trying to be polite and ask her to leave but she wouldn't. You… you saved me, Santana." Brittany's eyes were bright and she smiled wide for her girlfriend, extremely proud of her.

"I did?" Santana's tense shoulders immediately relax.

"You did," Brittany walks up to her and leans in for a peck. "I was the damsel this time." Santana is about to explain to Brittany again, what the word damsel meant but when Brittany reaches for her hand so they can walk out together, Brittany pulls back her hand abruptly, "Ow, fuck!"

"What's wrong?" Santana eyes go big a worried and confused look washes over her face. Brittany rarely ever says she's in pain, so when she says it, it must be really bad.

"Fuck!" Brittany says again as she looks at her left hand. It had started to bruise quickly just below her middle knuckle. She tries to shake it off but it hurts her even more. She cradles her hand her with the other.

"Britt?" Santana says gently after seeing the red and dark purple bruising and now swelling start to form. "I think…"

"Ugh, I know."

"A fracture?"

"Yeah," Brittany sighs. "I'll just finish teaching this class and we can go to the ER."

Santana is stunned by Brittany's answer "Um, No?" Brittany looks up at her in confusion, "Britt, you're not teaching. I'm taking you to the hospital now."

"But I have a class to teach," Brittany spits out angrily.

"Britt! You have a fractured hand and you _need_ to go to the hospital. How can you even teach like that?"

"I can!"

Santana drops her hand from Brittany's shoulder. She is sick of Brittany's tough-girl act. Then she raises both hands to shoulder level and turns her palms towards the blonde, "Give me a jab cross."

"What? I'm not punching you, Santana."

"Give me a jab cross."

"No!"

"Just fucking punch my hands, Brittany!"

Brittany huffs and curls her hands into fists. Santana can already see the pain in Brittany's eyes and wants to tell her to stop and not to hurt herself anymore, but she's tired of her stubborn ' _nothing can hurt me'_ attitude so she leaves her hands up for Brittany to prove her wrong. Or in this case, right.

Brittany face changes into true focus and determination and gives Santana a jab with the right hand and then a cross with her left. As soon as her left hand makes contact with Santana's palm, Brittany retracts her hand right away and turns around to face the lockers.

"God fucking damn it," Brittany hisses and punches the locker hard with her dominant fist leaving a little dent in the metal.

Santana's heart aches for her. Brittany has too much pride to admit she's in pain, but at this moment, is her realization that she cannot teach tonight's class. Santana walks up next to Brittany and takes her right hand in her own. She kisses Brittany's knuckles, pink from the most recent strike.

"Let's go to the hospital," Santana says softly.

Brittany sighs and swallows her pride, then nods her head. Santana grabs her sport bag for her and puts her free hand on Brittany's lower back to guide her to the front.

In the hallway between the change room and the training area, Finn is standing there with his arms crossed.

"Is everything okay? Santana came in to find you and when I told her where you were. She wasn't in there for more than 2 minutes when I heard screaming and yelling. I was on the phone when that blonde girl stormed out and then after I hung up I heard a loud bang or something. I know I can't go in, so I waited here for you. What's wrong? Why is Brittany's face so sad?"

"Finn, I need you to do us a favour and you need to listen carefully," Santana explains and Finn nods. "You need to either A: find a replacement for Brittany tonight ASAP, B: Teach the class yourself, or C: Call every member that registered today and tell them the class is cancelled."

Brittany just shakes her head but knows better than to say anything right now.

"But, class starts in 20 minutes, people are already starting to come in," Finn says in a panic.

"Did you hear your three options?" Santana says sternly and Finn furrows his eyebrows and nods again. "Then I suggest you pick one and get it done quickly before more people show up."

"But…"

"I'm taking Brittany to the hospital, and you're going to get this sorted out."

Finn sucks his lips into his mouth and nods. He looks at Brittany sympathetically and turns around to make some calls.

"Thank you," Brittany whispers, barely audible, but Santana hears it anyways.

"I just wished it was Quinn working today, she's much better at thinking on her toes. Lumps is probably fumbling with words right as we speak."

When the girls are walking out, Brittany encounters a few students excited to see her, but the sadness in her eyes gave away that something was wrong.

"Brittany!" One of her regulars called out, "I'm so excited for – wait, what's wrong?"

"Kinda had an accident before class and broke my hand. Finn is trying to find you guys a substitute, but if he can't find you one we're going to have to cancel the class, I'm so sorry." This draws the attention of the rest of the participants that have made it through the doors. "If the class is cancelled, feel free to get a refund or credit yourself to any other classes we offer," she adds in professionally. "I'm so sorry everyone!"

There are a few " _aww's"_ and " _damns"_ but everyone was understanding and waited for Finn to do his job. While Brittany was talking the members, Santana goes to the freezer and grabs an ice pack.

"Santana, you're not allowed back here, it's for employees only," Finn says with the phone between his ear and shoulder.

Santana just glares at him and wraps the ice pack in a towel before walking back out and placing it in Brittany's good hand so she can ice it herself. Santana had a huge fear of hurting her.

When Santana opened the door for Brittany to go through, they heard a few voices again.

"Get well soon, Brittany!"

"Next time!"

"Heal well, Brittany. We'll be here when you get back!"

Once they get into the car, everything falls silent. Santana keeps her hand on Brittany's thigh while Brittany steadies the ice pack on her broken hand.

"Thank you," Brittany says again at a red light. Santana looks over and the sad puppy dog blue eyes are looking directly at her.

Santana gives a faint smile, "I love you."

Brittany smiles back, "I love you too."

They wait 6 hours before Brittany's hand is x-rayed, and splinted. During the hours of waiting Brittany calls Sidekicks and tells Eric the short version of what happened – _there was an accident. She got injured. She can't teach. The end_. He was extremely sympathetic and understanding. He even offered to pay her for short term medical leave, which she politely declined considering she hasn't even been there very long and would feel guilty taking his money. He has been so kind. Quinn calls her as soon as she heard from Finn and makes sure she's okay. Apparently, Finn ended up cancelling the class because he was unable to find a suitable substitute and most of the members didn't want to take the class anyway if Brittany wasn't teaching it. Eventually, she was told that there were two small fractures but nothing too major, so the doctors said it would take about 3 weeks to heal.

* * *

The next day, Brittany wakes up with her hand still in a splint above her head and Santana gently sleeping on her own pillow this time but her hand is sitting on Brittany's stomach. They had agreed – much to Brittany's disapproval – that Santana shouldn't cuddle too closely in case she bumps her broken hand during their slumber; at least just for a day or two. She puts her good hand on top of the Latina's and strokes her fingers. Santana, still in deep sleep, shifts closer to Brittany but then her brows pinch in and then shifts back again. It's as if she knows even unconsciously that Brittany is fragile at the moment and she needs to keep her distance. So instead, Santana laces their fingers together. Well, as well as she could considering she's still completely asleep. Brittany smiles at the gesture and brings Santana's hand up to her lips and kisses it lightly.

Brittany turns half way and gently sets her bad hand over Santana's shoulder and leans in to kiss her girlfriend on the nose and brushes her raven hair behind to ear. She then turns back the opposite direction and slides quietly out of bed and as soon as she does, Santana grabs Brittany's pillow and snuggles with that instead. Brittany can't sleep anymore, the split feels too tight and it's uncomfortable. Her hand is still swollen so the pressure is giving her a little bit of pain so she decides to grab an ice pack and get her day started to distract herself from her bummed hand for a while. She checks her phone and notices one missed call and one new voicemail. It's from Kenneth.

 _"Hi Brittany, It's Kenneth from The Shark Tank. I'm sorry to hear what happened yesterday. It's a shame you weren't able to continue teaching the class. I once broke my foot and continued to work for the rest of the day and it sucked, but I guess your injury is more severe, heh heh heh. Anyway, I'm assuming you won't be coming in for at least a week or so, so I was hoping you could come in this afternoon so we can think of something suitable for you and your… situation. I'll be in the office until 7 tonight. Please stop by when you get the chance. Thanks, Brittany."_

Brittany turns off her phone and sits on the edge of the bed as Kenneth's words continue to scroll through her head. ' _Shame you weren't able… broke my foot… continued to work… more severe… a week or so…your situation…'_ She places her face in her hands. She knows Santana is right about Kenneth. If she was honest with herself, she knew that Kenneth is bad news and things probably wouldn't get any better but some of her students are her pride and joy, her reputation at The Shark Tank is her pride and joy, she can't just leave. It's not a part of who she is.

"Britt?"

Brittany hears the raspy voice and knows she's been caught feeling miserable, but she does her best to fake it. She turns around with a smile on her face, "Morning baby."

Santana sit ups and leans against her elbows with one hand as the other one rubs her tired eyes, "What are you doing over there? Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, Babe."

Santana lifts her arms up and Brittany knows exactly what she wants. She gets up off the corner of the mattress and walks to Santana's side of the bed. She gives her a firm 'good morning' hug and a kiss on the lips.

"How's your hand?" Santana asks after they break apart and runs her finger lightly over the splint.

Brittany shrugs, "It's okay. A little hard to sleep and it's still swollen, but it's okay."

Santana gingerly lifts her hand up to her lips and kisses the back of it and Brittany smiles at the sweetness of it all. "I didn't hurt you last night did I?"

Brittany shakes her head, "No."

Santana breathes a breath of relief. "Okay, good." Santana looks at the time, "Ugh, I have to go to work soon. What do you have planned for the day?"

Brittany shrugs, "Not much I can do. Hang around here I guess. Clean up the house a bit then head to The Ta…" She cuts herself off realizing she revealed what she was trying to hide.

Santana scrunches her eyebrows in, "Why are you going to the Tank?"

Brittany bites her bottom lip.

"Brittany," Santana says softly but sternly.

Brittany takes in a deep breath but can't look away from the sincere and worried look on the most important person in the world's face. "I got a call from Kenneth this morning and he asked me to go in to talk to him about what's going to happen now that I can't teach for a while," she tries to say as casual as possible.

"What do you mean what's going to happen? Why can't he just do what Sidekicks did? Give. You. Time. Off."

"I'm going to be fine, San. It will give me something to take my mind off this piece of shit anyways." She lifts her broken hand.

Santana shakes her head and sighs. She hates it when Brittany talks about herself in a demeaning way. "What time are you going? I can be back by 2:30… 2:45 at the latest. I can go with you? Drive you."

"I can drive with one hand, San. I still got my good one," She pokes Santana in the spot where her dimple is hiding with her good hand trying to lighten the mood but Santana won't have any of it.

"Brittany, we talked about this," she says seriously.

"I can walk."

"So, you don't want me to go?"

"I don't think it's necessary, that's all. I don't know how long it will take and you're just gonna be bored."

"I never get bored when it concerns you," she pushes Brittany's bangs out of the way lovingly.

"Tell you what, I'll go to the meeting while you're at work so then we can hopefully get home at the same time and spend the rest of the afternoon together."

Santana doesn't like the idea. In fact, she hates it. But she knows how Brittany likes to be independent especially when she feels inferior and incapable. She has something to prove.

"Fine, we'll do that," she forces herself to agree.

Brittany smiles another weak smile but her blue eyes genuinely thank her for letting her do this on her own. She gives Santana another kiss on the cheek before Santana gets up off the bed and ready for work.

* * *

While Santana is at work, she texts Brittany as much as she can, which isn't very much since it's the day she has to be on set. Today is one of the big numbers with a lot of singing and a little bit of dancing. However, she gets a text from Brittany telling her that she's on her way to meet Kenneth and that she loves her and not to worry so much. Santana can't help it. Her Mexican third eye is giving her a headache because she knows something is going to happen, something bad. She pushes through and finishes the group number with a bang. She's chatting with Quinn, Sam, and the director when she grabs her phone from her seat and notices she missed a call from Brittany. She excuses herself from the group and calls her back. Brittany picks up the phone after two rings but doesn't say anything.

"Hello? Britt?" Santana says while plugging her other ear with her finger. She thought that maybe it was loud on set and she couldn't hear her clearly.

"Santana," Brittany says quietly and Santana checks the volume on her phone and turns it all the way up.

"Britt? Is everything okay? I can barely hear you."

"I'm okay, when are you coming home?" Brittany sounds like a child who is missing their mom when they're at work.

"I just finished. I should be home soon. Are you sure everything is okay?" Santana walks back to the group of people she was originally talking to and taps Quinn on the shoulder. She points to the phone and waves a goodbye. Quinn completely understands and nods while waving goodbye as well. Santana speed walks her way to the change room to grab her purse and heads straight to the car.

"Yeah… I just… I just want you to come home." Brittany's voice is so quiet that Santana can just make it out even though she's sitting in her completely silent car.

"I'm on my way, Britt. I'm on my way."

"Okay, drive safe. Love you. See you soon."

Santana's heart wells up with sadness at the sound of the usual cheery voice turned so small, "I will. I love you too."

As soon as Santana hangs up the phone her mood changes. She goes from soft and caring girlfriend-Santana to Snixx in less than 2 seconds of ending the call. She puts her phone down and all the way home she's yelling curses and profanities directed at one, Kenneth Lowell.

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Constructive Criticism? Please be kind.


	30. Chapter 30

AN: Thank you guys for all your comments on the last chapter. You ARE my motivation to keep this story going. I would just like to say that some of you have questions and/or ideas on what should or could happen with the story and I'd just like to say **stop reading my mind!** Honestly, I'm a few chapters ahead in writing before I post anything, and some of your comments and requests have already been written out and placed in my story. So, it's one of two things. 1) you're reading my mind. 2)I'm not original enough and I'm leading you to obvious conclusions.

Regardless, thanks for your support. :) xoxo

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

"Come in."

Brittany hears from the other side of the door after she knocks. She sets her hand on the knob and takes in a deep breath before opening it wide and smiling.

"Hi, Kenneth."

"Brittany! How nice to see you. How is your…" he gestures to her hand, "injury."

Brittany holds her broken hand with her good one as if she was to protect it from his gesture. "The swelling is just starting to come down. There are two minor fractures along the –"

Kenneth interrupts her with _tsk'_ ing sounds, "How were you so clumsy, Brittany? I thought you were very coordinated," he says with a phony confused look across his face.

Brittany furrows her brows and tilts her head to the side, "Well, sir. Accidents happen I guess. The doctor –"

"You need to be more careful. Make sure you punch the bags properly, they're not toys and they can come back with quite some weight behind it. You have to make sure to make a proper fist, nice and tight," Kenneth makes a fist of his own and shows it to her, "like this."

Brittany takes in a breath. Her patience is running thin and she can feel her body starting to shake with frustration, but she puts on a smile the best she can.

"I know how to make a proper fist, I … It wasn't the bag. I just – anyway," she decides to go straight to the point, "the doctor said about 3 weeks to heal completely."

"3 weeks eh? I didn't think it was _that_ serious. Do you have a doctor's note?"

Brittany tries to dial her boiling blood down to a simmer. Luckily, Santana made Brittany get a doctor's note before she left the hospital in case something like this happened. Sue would have never asked for a note, heck, Eric didn't even ask for a note; her hand was obviously broken. She takes it out of her back pocket, mentally thanking her girlfriend, and hands it to him.

"Wow, the doctor has shitty writing. Looks like you could have forged it with your broken hand, heh heh heh," Kenneth jokes. Brittany doesn't laugh. Kenneth takes a sip of his cola then clears his throat and continues, "Well, Brittany what should we do now that you're out of commission?"

Brittany has no idea. She figured she could just rest like what any normal person would do under these circumstances. She didn't expect to have to work. "Well, I could –"

He cuts her off again for the third time, "What I was thinking was that Leigh could take over your Thursday class until you're able to come back. This will give him a chance to work with the advanced people instead of boring himself with the beginners. You can work next to him. Help him out here and there when he needs it. What do you think?"

Brittany swallows. She hates the idea. She fucking hates it, but what can she do? If she says no, he might fire her completely. At least if she goes she can still help her students and she can still see the regulars and that's what she wants.

"I think that's a great idea, sir," she nods.

"Are you teaching at Sidekicks?"

That question took Brittany by surprise. "You mean like, while I'm injured?" _because, no? Not everyone is a monster like you._ She thinks to herself.

"Of course I mean while you're injured, I obviously didn't mean right this second."

That remark made Brittany feel about 2 inches tall. He's belittling her and making her feel stupid. She thought it was a valid question, but apparently, it was a stupid one.

"I'm not. They gave me time off."

Kenneth nods, "Okay good." He pauses to tilt the can of cola all the way back to finish it off. "I guess that way they don't have to pay you right? Heh heh heh, cheapskates."

Brittany opens her mouth to tell him off. To tell him that they were actually willing to pay her for not even working, but she decides that that's information he doesn't need to know. She really didn't feel like telling him anything anymore, so she closes her mouth and forces the tiniest smile she can muster.

Kenneth gets up from the chair and walks Brittany out. Music is pumping from the outside. It's the intermediate class that her friend Ashley teaches. Ashley has been there as long as she has. She has been under Sue even longer. She was never one to compete much but Brittany trained her and she became better than she ever was. She ended up competing a few times and taking gold almost every time all thanks to Brittany. She is quite a bit shorter than the blonde. She has short dark hair with red highlights. She has paler skin and has a few pounds on Brittany but don't be fooled by her size and shape, she's flexible and strong as fuck. You just can't tell until she starts whaling on her opponents. She takes all of Brittany's classes when she can and has learned all her teaching techniques from her, Brittany is her idol.

Brittany stops to watch for a while with a proud smile on her face. _This kid has come so far._ Ashley looks up and gives Brittany a wave and a nod. Just then, a voice breaks Brittany from their silent exchange.

"Ashley! Make sure everyone knows how punch properly. We wouldn't want any more accidents to happen," Kenneth yells through the music and chuckles while patting Brittany on the shoulder. Brittany's body stiffens and her right fist clenches tightly. Everyone is looking at her, including Ashley. Ashley has her brows furrowed in confusion and bites her lip. She knows what happened to Brittany. Everyone knows it was from an incident in the locker room and not a training accident. In fact, even Kenneth knows.

Brittany gives a small shrug and Ashely looks on sympathetically before bringing the attention back to her class and distracting everyone with kicks. Not once mentioning about punches. Brittany appreciates that and gives Ashley a half smile before she leaves, Ashley nods.

* * *

"What a fucking asshole!" Santana paces across the living room after Brittany tells her the story. "Fucking asshole! He needs to learn his lesson and I'm gonna go ALL Lima Heights on his mother fucking sorry ass. He's going to wish he was NEVER born!"

"Santana, calm down, please," Brittany begs from the couch.

"How can I calm down, Britt? He's being a dick! He's doing all this on purpose, Brittany. He's a fucking creep that doesn't deserve this studio. He doesn't deserve YOU!"

Brittany looks away and sighs. She knows. She knows Santana is right. But she has hope for the people at the Tank, and hope for the Tank itself.

"We'll see how things go in three weeks, okay?"

"Wait, you're not quitting? After he… after he said everything he did to you?" Santana stops in her tracks and looks at Brittany with her arms in the air. "Britt!"

"Three weeks, Santana. That's all I ask."

Santana drops her arms and they smack against the side of her thighs and huffs. "Fine. Do whatever you want to do, Britt."

"San, you know how important these people are to me. Not Kenneth, I don't give a fuck about him, but everyone else. They have to count for something right?"

Santana half nods, half shakes her head and is still overwhelmed by her feelings, she moves towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Brittany asks.

"I'm going for a walk, I need to release some frustrations too, but I can't go all punching everything."

Without any more words she opens the door and walks out. She takes the long way back to her apartment.

Once she gets back she sits on her couch and makes a call to Mercedes. She needs to vent so she tells her everything. Mercedes listens carefully and tries to convince Santana to see things from Brittany's perspective.

"What if the owner of this talent agency became a super big prick and told me to dump all my old contacts and make new ones? Including you. How would you feel if I told you I couldn't be your agent anymore because someone told me not to?" Mercedes explains.

"I would say that was bullshit. You and I have worked together for so long and we work so well together. You're such a great agent, I wouldn't want to lose … oh."

Santana could picture Mercedes nodding her head. "Give her some time, Santana. This place was her life. This is where her passion bloomed and I don't think it's fair that you want to take that away from her."

"I don't! I don't want to take it away from her. I just hate seeing her in so much pain and anger. I've never seen her this way before and it kills me," Santana says as she slumps further into the couch covering her eyes with her left hand.

"She's got to make this choice for herself. She knows what's right. Brittany is a smart girl, she knows what she needs to do but she can't do it because she is such a beautiful character inside that she would rather get hurt and bullied by this douchebag than hurt the people who looks up to her. She just needs to find her own way to do this. You understand, right?"

She sighs, "I do. Thanks 'Cedes."

"I'm here for ya, girl. Official business though, I heard they were thinking of shooting an M&M commercial, are you interested in doing it? Auditions won't be for a while, it's just in talks. They're still arguing whether to have the red or the yellow M&M as the lead."

Santana can't help but chuckle, "Sure, I've got nothing to lose. Besides, Brittany loves M&Ms. Let me know if you receive any updates."

"Will do!" Santana can hear Mercedes write something down in her book.

After they end their call, Santana sits on the couch a while longer and thinks about what Mercedes had said and she's right. Right now is the time to support Brittany and just be there for her. She collects her mail, tossing half of it in the recycling bin. She steps out of her apartment when she sees a blonde sitting on the bottom of the steps playing with her splint. Santana takes her phone out of her pocket, no missed calls or texts.

"Brittany?" The blonde turns around and gives a sad smile and stands up. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you buzz in or call or text?"

"I wanted to give you some time to release your frustrations. I know what it's like to need that kind of time and space."

"What … what are you doing here? How did you know I was here?" Santana says as she takes the few steps down and stands in front of her girl.

Brittany shrugged, "I didn't know. I just… I took a walk a few minutes after you did and I ended up here. I sat down to take a rest and to think and maybe hope that you were inside." She shrugs and looks at the brown eyes looking down into her blue ones from one step above. "Are you okay? Did you…" she gestures down the street, "Do you still need space?"

Santana shakes her head and holds both Brittany's hands, being extra gentle with her left one. "No, I was just going to go home to find you and apologize."

"Apologize?" Brittany scrunches her face up into this cute innocent angel.

Santana nods, but just as she was about to say something, a police car drives by with its sirens blaring. Both girls cringe at the high pitch wailing. "Do you want to come inside?"

Brittany nods. Santana takes Brittany's hand and they walk back into the apartment. Familiarity floods Brittany's system. It's been so long since she's been in this apartment. They've officially called her house their home so there was never a need to come back here.

Santana sits them down on the couch. "Britt," she takes her hands in her own. "I'm sorry I walked out, I just…"

"You needed time to process, I get it," Brittany finishes her sentence for her and rubs circles with her right thumb to soothe the brunette.

"Yes, but I should have been more understanding in the first place. It just took me a while. I know that a lot is happening for you and Kenneth is being a fuck-face, but you're so strong, and you're so smart, and you know what you're doing and I should trust in that. So, I'm sorry." Just the name Kenneth has now been tainted. Santana can't even say the name without seeing red.

"I'm sorry too," Brittany chimes in and Santana is confused. "You've been a great girlfriend. I can see how much you care about me… my feelings and you don't want me getting hurt. Thank you so much for caring about me the way you do. I shouldn't lose my temper with you and I know I've been pretty cranky lately but I don't mean to take it out on you. And I know you want what's best for me so… in three weeks, if things don't get better, I'll call up Sue to see what she thinks. I'll tell her everything this time and maybe she can help me out. I just don't want to bother her too much now because I know how busy she is with her show, it's a big thing for her."

Santana nods and smiles, she gets it. "Okay."

Brittany smiles back, "Yeah? Thank you." Brittany leans forward for a kiss and Santana easily complies. "I love you," Brittany mumbles into Santana's mouth.

Santana puts her hand behind Brittany's neck and pulls her in, tilting her head just a little more so she can fill her lips with Brittany's. She just loves making up after little fights like this.

Brittany scoots in closer and wraps her broken hand around Santana's waist and runs her good hand over Santana's thighs gently; not once releasing their lips. Passion grows quickly between the girls and heat rises rapidly between their legs. Santana puts one hand on Brittany's chest and scrunches the collar of her shirt; trying to control her libido but failing. Brittany runs her hand up Santana's leg so high that she has nowhere left to go. Santana hums in pleasure but pulls away as they lean their foreheads together to catch their breath.

"Britt, your hand… are you… can you…"

"Mhm," Brittany answers as she attaches their lips back together. She pops open Santana's jeans, finds the zipper and pulls it down. She tugs down at the waistband with one hand. They're skinny jeans so Santana gives her a hand with it. She ends up helping Brittany with her pants as well. Brittany pulls Santana's t-shirt over her head and begins attacking Santana's neck. She hovers over Santana, silently asking her to lie down. Santana is sliding down she leans backwards on her shoulder blades to slip down just a bit more to get comfortable, but because of their lack of space, Santana ends up lying on Brittany's hand and Brittany sucks in a breath, winces, and jerks her hand away.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry! Are you okay? I'm so sorry!"

"I'm okay, I'm okay. Don't worry about it."

"I don't know if we can do this, Britt. I don't want to hurt you," Santana says as she begins to sit up.

"Just need more space, maybe we can…"

Knowing what Brittany is suggesting, Santana shuffles off the couch, takes Brittany's good hand and drags her to the bedroom. Santana lets Brittany get on the bed first after stripping each other down completely. Well, more like Santana doing most of the stripping for both parties. They get under the covers and their lips attach again instantly. Santana is on top this time so Brittany doesn't need to rely on supporting her own weight. Santana works on Brittany's neck, kissing up to her ear and the down to her collar bone. Her hands are roaming the Goddess's body under her. Feeling her soft skin against the palms of her hands as her fingertips caress every inch it makes contact with. She palms a breast and plays with the nipple. Twirling it between her thumb and index. Pinching it the way Brittany likes it. Brittany moans and sinks down lower into the bed. Her legs are spread enough that she is straddling Santana's left thigh. Santana makes her way down and sucks the lonely nipple into her mouth. Brittany throws her good hand into the thick dark locks of hair. She teases her nipples for a good long while before Brittany starts to get impatient at the lack of focus between her legs. She raises her left knee and lightly bumps Santana's most sensitive spot right now. Santana exhales onto Brittany's breast and looks up at darkened blue crystals looking back at her. Brittany instantly looks away innocently and smirks.

"Patience," Santana says in her sultry voice and presses her own thigh against Brittany's wet center.

Brittany moans and begins to rock her hips against the caramel thigh that is pushing up on her oh so perfectly. "Babe, please," Brittany begs.

Santana grabs a pillow and taps on Brittany's hip to lift it, she does quickly in anticipation on what Santana has in store for her.

Santana throws the cover off both of them since their bodies are producing way more heat than normal by now and makes her way south. Kissing along the way. Rubbing the inside on her long cream coloured thighs. Running her fingers through her pink heated flesh before kissing all around it. Her wet glistening core is waiting for her. She kisses all the way around her center and around the throbbing clit, but not touching either. Brittany is trying to chase her by circling her hips, but Santana won't have any of it. She also knows that she is just as wet as Brittany is, but she wants to pleasure her girlfriend first. She loves tasting her sweet sticky fluids reserved just for her. She begins to lick slowly and softly. When she finally touches the clit Brittany moans loudly and lifts her hips up. Santana pushes them back down and continues her work.

"Fuck, San," Brittany breathes. Her hand scratching at the top of the brunette's head. "Fuck that's good, oh god so fucking good," Brittany manages to get out with heavy breaths.

Santana finds herself rocking her hips against the mattress. She can't take the pressure building inside herself. Her core is throbbing like crazy and it needs a real touch. Brittany's hand is obviously too far away and besides, she is too busy concentrating on enjoying every touch Santana is giving her. Santana doesn't want to stop pleasuring Brittany because just hearing and seeing her girlfriend in so much pleasure is getting her off. She decides to take matters into her own hands, literally. She brings her left hand down and …

"Fuck," she breathes out against Brittany's pussy. She realizes she's so wet that the back of her hand is now sitting on a wet patch on her sheets. She begins to rub herself as she keeps Brittany's _lips_ open with her other hand.

"Oh God, Santana!" Brittany moves her hand from the Latina's head and tightly grips a pillow next to her. "Oh God, Santana, fuck! Fuck that's so fucking hot!"

Santana looks up through her lashes and she catches the squinting blue eyes watching her. She realizes that Brittany can see what she's doing. Her tight bronze ass is in the air and her left hand is between her legs, Brittany knows exactly what's going on.

"Mmmm," Santana hums while sucking on Brittany's clit. "I can't help myself, baby." _Lick._ "you're so…" _Suck_. "Fucking." _Lick_. "Sexy." She continues to run her tongue in long strokes over Brittany's swollen flesh and sucking gently on the nub.

"I'm gonna … come early … just from watching you … baby… ugh fuck."

Santana has an idea and begins to move her own fingers against herself harder. She begins to pant and whine while trying to control her own release.

"San, I'm close…." Brittany pants while gripping at her own hair.

At the sound of that Santana reluctantly stops herself for the greater good. She slides up quickly onto Brittany and pushes her right leg back. She slides her fingers into Brittany while positioning herself. Brittany moans at the feeling of her girlfriend inside of her but opens her eyes when Santana pulls out after entering her for only a few seconds. She spreads Brittany's natural lube on her own pink, fleshy, swollen mound and Brittany's eyes go wide. Brittany's mouth opens in shock but when she's is about to speak, Santana opens herself up with one hand and Brittany with the other and lowers herself until their clits touch and slide easily against each other.

"Ahh… ahhh… fucking holy hell," Brittany says as her body tenses and she places her hand on Santana's waist to steady her. Santana sucks in her breath at the sensation and leans down to kiss Brittany on the lips hard while rocking her body against her girl's. Santana loves it when Brittany fucking swears. The extra lubrication works wonders and they're able to glide smoothly against one another. They both like their clits stimulated aggressively so it works so well for both of them. Santana pushes up against Brittany hard and Brittany follows with her motion.

Brittany's body begins to tense but at the same time she doesn't stop rocking. Both girls are now panting and sending out uncontrollable shrieks and moans. Santana feels droplets of sweat slide down her back. She sees a thin layer of sweat on Brittany's forehead and her eyes are shut just tight enough that Santana knows ecstasy is lying right behind them. They're both so close but not quite over the edge yet. The buildup is nothing they have ever felt before. Santana never knew her body could feel this high. Brittany has lost control of her body and is gripping hard at Santana's ass.

Neither one of them can control their kisses anymore. Santana manages just to whisper, "I'm almost there… babe… almost… so close."

Brittany just whines out and nods while fisting her own hair with her broken hand. Apparently she can no longer feel the pain.

"Shit. Shit. I'm coming… Brittany! I'm fucking… uggghhhh…"

Brittany only nods. They both thrust hard a couple more times before they both shatter. Brittany first then Santana soon after. Brittany screams Santana's name. The highest pitch Santana has ever heard. Santana grabs at Brittany's breast and rides out her own orgasm. Her forehead buried in the pillow right next to Brittany's neck and biting on the shoulder right at mouth level.

Both of them are breathing so hard since neither of them were able to breathe when they were coming. Shocks of pure ecstasy shoot through their veins and only pure pleasure was able to enter their bodies, fuck oxygen.

Santana finally removes herself from Brittany's body. Liquid dripping from both their cores. Brittany's legs are still spread wide and she's just lying there with her eyes closed and breathing like she just ran a marathon. They take a few moments to compose themselves. Brittany finally straightens her legs and turns her head towards her own personal sex Goddess.

"Wow… wow." Brittany finds Santana's hand and holds it gently. "I fucking love you so much."

Santana turns her body towards her girlfriend and kisses her on the side of her lip. "I fucking love you so much too."

They smile warmly at each other and close their eyes. Santana pulls Brittany in as much as she can and they lie motionless for a while. Eventually, they fall asleep and somehow, one of them decide it's a good idea to reach for the blanket that has fallen to the floor and cover themselves up. And even though neither of them had any recollection of doing it after their mind was blown by their orgasm, they both agreed that it was probably Santana.

They both wake up at 2 am and decide to take a shower. Literally. They took a shower. They were both too tired to fool around, but Brittany woke up and said the room smelled like sweat and lady sex, and they both agreed that they felt super sticky so they showered, dried themselves, and crawled back into bed butt naked but clean.

* * *

Brittany ends up helping Leigh out every Thursday for the next few weeks. In fact, she's doing the majority of the teaching. Whenever a student has a question, they always go to Brittany first or if they end up asking Leigh a difficult one, he would stutter then direct them towards Brittany to answer the questions while he ' _goes to the back for some business meeting'_ or has to leave to _'find the right song to pump everyone up for the next work out.'_ However, the syllabus has changed and so has the structure of the class. It is now run the way Leigh wants, and not the way Brittany did it. Many of the clients would look to Brittany for advice on basic techniques but if it proved simple enough for Leigh to demonstrate it, he would try to turn their attention back to him. To watch how he does it, and to appreciate his skills. Basically, the class was an hour long and more than half of it was him ' _demonstrating'_. The only time Brittany got to demonstrate something was when she had to explain it verbally; something Leigh had much difficulty doing. The warm up was cut short so there were more injuries than usual. Brittany had the rare few that would hurt their wrist from punching too hard or twist their ankle from being clumsy, but most of the time they were only sore from the work out but never seriously injured. After the first day Leigh took over, there were 3 injuries already in one class. Two of them had pulled hamstrings and one had sore neck. Brittany had told him earlier that the amount of warm up and stretching needed was crucial for this class since most of them go all out with their kicks and swings that, without proper warm up, they could easily pull or heaven forbid, tear a muscle. Leigh, on the other hand, disagreed. He said the more time they had punching and kicking, the faster they can learn and the better they get. When this was brought up to Kenneth, he just laughed his annoying fucking laugh and told Brittany that Leigh is the instructor for the time being and what he says goes. Unfortunately, some of Brittany's regulars stopped coming back and had told her they would return upon her full recovery. Other drop in members found the class mediocre at most and would stick with the other classes offered. This information came from Quinn when she asked them what they thought of the class by the end of it. Even their ratings went down on most of the online reviewing sites.

By the end of the day, Brittany is frustrated when she gets home. She would tell Santana about her day and how Leigh was constantly showing off and not actually teaching. She wants so badly to take the class back but as long as she is wearing the splint, this class belongs to Leigh. Santana would bring Brittany an ice pack after each class and listen to her rant about that one very stressful hour she had to endure. She has complete faith that once her girlfriend is completely healed, the class will belong to her once again. All she has to do is get through the three weeks Kenneth has agreed to.

"I'm sorry. All I've been doing the last two weeks is bitch and complain about everything," Brittany said to Santana one Friday when Santana was making them mix green salad with grilled chicken for dinner. Santana was cutting up some red peppers when Brittany wrapped her arms around her slim waist and kissed her behind the ear. "Thank you for being so patient and listening to me. I love you so much."

Santana is looking at her peppers and smiling. Yup, she's smiling at her thinly sliced peppers. Finally she puts her knife down and turns around. She wraps her arms around Brittany's neck, "My pleasure baby. I know things are frustrating for you right now but I want you to know that I will always be here for you. To listen to you rant, to hold you back from going all Lima heights on their asses, and to calm you down when you're ready for it." She tip toes and Brittany automatically knows what to do. They lean in for a nice long kiss. "I love you so much, too."

"Doctors appointment on Monday, are you going to be able to come with me?"

"It's at 2 right? I'm off at 1 so I'll come home to pick you up and we can head there together right away."

"Yup! 2pm," Brittany confirms with a single head nod.

* * *

When Monday rolls around, Brittany is excited for three reasons. One, her splint is supposed to come off for good. Two, she returns to Sidekicks on Wednesday. Three, she'll get her Thursday class back. The doctor tells the girl that her hand healed up quite nicely and she is ready for full use of her hand and fingers. Both Brittany and Santana give each other a naughty smirk before the doctor clears his voice and draws their attention back to him. Of course, she needs to start off slowly before punching the bags at super retro speed again. The girls laugh at the doctor's remark. He knows how popular Brittany is since he is one of the many who also subscribe to the Lima Liner.

When Brittany walks through the doors into Sidekicks on Wednesday wearing her instructors tank top, Eric, along with the other instructors and staff, applaud. Brittany's face flushes red before punching Eric on the shoulder.

"Hey, you be careful now, we wouldn't want you gone for another three weeks," Eric jokes.

"First off, wrong hand. Secondly, ha-ha, trust me, your bicep isn't _that_ hard."

Eric challenges her and rolls up his t-shirt to flex for her. Eric is a slim guy, but he is ripped as hell. There isn't an ounce of fat on the guy and his muscles are toned as fuck. "My mistake," Brittany laughs.

"Damn straight," Eric chuckles and gives Brittany a friendly hug, "Great to have you back."

"It's great to be back!"

When Brittany goes to the back to put on her gear, she hears people coming through the doors and then she hears people raising their voices. When she finally walks out to all the fuss going on, all eyes are on her. She hears whispers, " _She's back!" "That's her!" "I told you she taught here." "Wowwww… look at her."_

There was a line up at the reception area but the members were being turned away. Brittany walks up to Eric while she puts an supportive wrap on her left hand and asks him what the commotion was about.

"Umm, apparently, word got out that you're back today and all these people want to take your class, but we only have enough space for the first 20 people who registered."

Brittany frowns, looks around then takes in a deep breath, "Do you have any classes after this one?" she asks.

Eric shakes his head, "Nope, you're the last one."

"Do you mind if I make a suggestion?" Brittany looks over to the desk and she sees a lot of very upset clients. Eric nudges his chin forward to ask her to continue. "If it's okay with you, I don't mind staying another hour to teach the rest of them if they don't mind waiting."

Eric thinks about it and looks over to the receptionist who is looking flustered by the amount of people standing around her desk.

"Okay, we can stay open for an extra hour, it's just the three of us anyway and Mia can leave as soon as she gets the second class registered."

While Eric makes the announcement to the flustered members waiting at the desk, Brittany goes to the back to send a quick text to Santana, letting her know she will be an hour late going home.

 ** _To Santeddy: Hey babe. I'm gonna be at sidekicks for an extra hour. Apparently we had an overflow of members come in for my class and a lot of them weren't able to participate. I told Eric I'd stay and teach another group after this class is done. Sorrz hun._**

Not a minute later, Santana texts back.

 ** _From Santeddy: U're such a fucking wonderful person, you know that Britt? This is one of the many reasons why I love you so much. Have fun! I'll have a hot bath waiting for you when you get home… maybe essential oils too ;)_**

 ** _To Santeddy: Ooh la la, do I get company in this bath you speak of?_**

 ** _From Santeddy: Like … Lord T? :\_**

 ** _To Santeddy: Um, was thinking of a more hairless pussy ;)_**

 ** _From Santeddy: I could shave him?_**

 ** _To Santeddy: But he can't give me a massage while a bathe :(_**

 ** _From Santeddy: I guess I can step in for him then, what kind of massage do you want?_**

 ** _To Santeddy: Full. Body. ;)_**

 ** _From Santeddy: I'll be ready and waiting. XXX..O_**

A shiver runs up Brittany's spine. She realizes where she was and carefully puts her phone down and shakes off the heat that began to rise through her body.

When Brittany steps back out into the main workout floor, 20 students are there chatting and warming up and another 12-15 of them are waiting around the front for the next class. Some of them had left and would be back in an hour. Eric gives her a thumbs up and Brittany sends him back a wink before she claps twice to gather everyone's attention.

"Hey everyone! Thanks for coming back and joining me this evening," she looks up to the members at the back, "And to everyone waiting for the next class, thank you for your patience!" Many of them look up and give her a thumbs up or a wave or a nod, and every single one of them gave her a smile. Brittany notices a few familiar faces, some of them had trained with her at The Shark Tank and had heard she teaches more classes at Sidekicks so they decided to switch their membership or go to both gyms if they can afford it. Sidekicks was charging more than The Shark Tank, but after Kenneth made all those ' _renovation'_ price hikes, they became more or less the same.

Brittany walks to the speakers and presses play on her iPod. The music blares and she starts her routine. By the end of the class, everyone is sweaty, huffing and puffing, and talking animatedly with each other if they had the energy. Brittany thanks the class and sets up for the next one. A few more people enter the studio and she again has a full class of 20 (Eric being her 20th participant). The class runs smoothly and even super-fit-super-ripped Eric has a hard time keeping up. He may be great at yoga, Pilates, and cardio, but kickboxing was not his strong point, he was not a fighter. To put it simply, kickboxing kicked his ass.

"Wow! That was really something, Brittany!" Eric says as he wipes his forehead. His shirt is drenched and he's massaging out his quads. "And look at you, you barely broke a sweat. I'm impressed Miss Pierce."

"Well, I was just walked around and throwing a punch or two when I needed to. I stopped to help a lot of people but you, you went all out. I'm surprised you didn't take it easy."

"I'm not allowed to take it easy, the other members would laugh at me. At least I kept up."

"That you did!"

Eric asked for a few pointers on how to throw a nicer sidekick and as soon as all the members left, Brittany showed him on the long bag how to throw a strong sidekick. How to pivot his foot properly and how to chamber his leg before pushing his heel out.

Brittany thanks him for keeping the studio open for the other members and then he thanks her for spending extra time at Sidekicks.

When Brittany gets home, she finds the house incredibly quiet and the lights are off. She walks into the kitchen and sees that Santana has already put new food out for Lord Tubbington. She goes upstairs and into the only room that has a light on, her bedroom. When she walks in, she smells a scent of lavender and vanilla. Her eyes widen and she drops her bag when she sees a very naked Latina sitting in the tub with bubbles and candles all around.

"You're 5 minutes late, water is getting cold," Santana says in her sexy raspy voice. Her hair is pulled up in a messy bun and a few strands of hair frame the side of her face. Brittany gulps and licks her lips. "Well, while you're standing there staring, I'm just going to start without you." Santana sinks into the water a little more and hums in comfort.

Brittany's eyes widen even more, she's not even sure if she has blinked this entire time. She strips out of her clothes, leaving them on the floor and Santana giggles at Brittany's clumsiness. Brittany, the girl who can kick ass, do flips, punch and kick targets dead on is stumbling all over the place trying to get her panties off and struggling to take off her very tight sports bra. Probably because she can't seem to take her eyes off the wet caramel skin sitting in the tub before her. She gets frustrated with her bra and almost rips it when she tries to get it over her head. Santana covers her mouth and tries to keep in her laughter. Brittany glares at her when she has finally removed herself from all her clothes. Santana shuffles back and makes room for Brittany to sit in front of her. Brittany tests the water with her toes, it's still steaming hot, perfect. She slowly lowers herself into the water and sits between Santana's toned legs and leans back onto her chest. Santana wraps her arms around her girlfriend and kisses her on the shoulder. She grabs a loofa, squirts some body wash onto it, and begins scrubbing the day off of Brittany and she exhales in relaxation.

"You are amazing," Brittany sighs as she turns her head and connect their lips together.

" _You're_ the amazing one, Britt-Britt," Santana says in her calm, soothing voice she only uses with Brittany. In fact, Santana didn't even know she had this voice before she met the love of her life.

After Santana bathes Brittany completely, they sit in the water while Brittany unconsciously strokes Santana's calf up and down and Santana rubs her thumb over their clasped hands and nuzzling into Brittany's shoulder, giving it kisses every once in a while.

Finally Santana breaks the silence, "So, about that wet hairless pussy you were speaking of…"

Brittany smiles a naughty smile and turns her head while reaching back with her hand to massage the back of Santana's neck. They kiss slowly and passionately. They kiss deeply and lovingly. Their hearts are beating fast, their bodies are heating up, the area between their legs are getting wetter (and not from the bath water), but they continue to kiss. They sink into each other's lips, their tongues slowly play with each other as they taste one another. Brittany's right hand is still playing with Santana's hair and neck and her left hand is still stroking her leg. Santana's right hand has moved from Brittany's stomach to her breast, gently but firmly kneading it and once in a while playing with her nipple. Brittany moans into Santana's mouth but they don't fail to stay together. Santana's left hand begins trailing downward until she reaches her favourite destination.

The girls make love in and out of the tub that night.

It was a wonderful way to spend a Wednesday night and it was an even better way to take Brittany's mind off the next day. The dreaded Thursday return to The Shark Tank where no one knows what's going to happen next, except for one very, very annoying man.

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Constructive Criticism? Please be kind.


	31. Chapter 31

AN: Thanks for the reviews! xoxo

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

When Brittany arrives at the Tank Thursday evening, she stands at the door 30 minutes before her class starts. She closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath and remembers why she's still here.

"Brittany!"

She hears a male voice call her from behind the desk. She looks up and there he is, tall and dopey looking.

"Hi, Finn!"

"You're teaching this class right? Like, just you?"

"Yup! I'm back baby!" Brittany looks around the studio then furrows her brows, "Where's Quinn?" She looks over at Finn and drops her sports bag.

"I'm not sure actually. Kenneth called me in last night asking me to come in today, he didn't say why."

Brittany hums, and thinks for a moment. Quinn knew it was going to be her first day back and she would have told her if she wasn't going to be in. "I hope everything is okay, I'll give her a call."

Finn nods and takes his seat behind the desk while Brittany calls Quinn on her cellphone.

" _Hello_?"

"Hi, Quinn. Umm… where are you? You're not at the studio."

" _Yeah, actually, I was about to text you,"_ Quinn sighs. _"I've been really busy with last minute shootings and changes to the show so I told Kenneth I'd be unavailable this week. I was, however, going to come in today, but he called me last night and told me that Finn was going to replace me. He said he wasn't sure if I was going to show up today so he just told me not to."_

Brittany can basically hear Quinn shrugging on the other side.

"Oh, I was really looking forward to working with you today," Brittany kicks the mat lightly.

" _Me too, but I'll be back next week and so will you, right? So, I'll see you then. You understand how it is, Santana has been here for over 10 hours already."_

"I know, she texted me before I left for the studio wishing me luck today. I was hoping to see her before I left but, like you said, it's been hectic. End of production stuff, she told me."

 _"Your girl speaks the truth,"_ Quinn says quickly and Brittany hears a megaphone on the other end of the line. _"Sorry, Britt. I gotta do a few more lines with…"_ Quinn trails off and Brittany hears mumbling on the other end of the line. " _With… Stop it, I was gonna tell her, can you stop?… hey hey… what are you…"_ Brittany loses Quinn and is completely confused by what just happened. Then she hears a familiar voice that sends butterflies into her tummy.

 _"Hey Britt-Britt. I miss you. I love you. QUINN! STOP IT! I just wanna say a few words. We have to go back to work now, they just called for us. Good luck on your first day back. I'll see you when you get home. Quinn is literally climbing on me to get her phone back so I gotta go kay?"_ Santana says extremely quickly.

"I love you too, babe."

But by then Quinn has already taken her phone back, _"She says she loves you too,"_ Quinn covers the mouth piece and tells Santana. _"Alright, Britt. Kick some ass!"_

"Thanks, Quinn. Have fun."

Brittany gets changed and people are starting to trickle in. New faces and familiar ones smile as soon as they see who their instructor is. Some even look around for the other dude and perk up when they don't see him. The class goes by without a hitch and without a single injury. Brittany does, however, notice that there were a few of her regulars missing and that there were less people in her class than usual. She assumes most of them don't know that she's back. She shrugs to herself and gets changed as soon as she has answered everyone's questions. There was a weird vibe but she wasn't sure what it was. Finn seemed to have been looking around a lot and he looked particularly nervous after the class.

"Hey, are you okay?" Brittany, ever so in tune with people's emotions, asks.

"Huh? Oh, yah, I'm fine," Finn smiles.

"Are you sure? You look kinda nervous or something."

"Me? I … no. I'm not. I, no, everything is okay."

Brittany nods and pulls her lips to one side, "Okay, well. If you need to chat about anything, I'm the only other person left here. So feel free."

Finn scratches his temple then rests a hand behind his neck and rubs it, "Umm… So apparently, I've been putting on some weight and I was wondering if you could like… help me lose some."

"Oh, of course I can, Finn!" Brittany slaps him playfully on the shoulder.

Finns eyes light up and he smiles, "Rachel is coming back for a few weeks and I want to look studly for her."

Brittany giggles at the word, "Sure thing. Well, you could always join my class here. You know that's quite the work out."

"I was looking for something more personal. I'm not the most comfortable with my skills."

"Okay, well, Kenneth doesn't let us use this space for extra training, but Eric lets me use his space if there aren't any classes going on. You would just have to pay them the private lesson fee and then we can have up to an hour and a half by ourselves…. Umm, but maybe talk to Kenneth first to make sure he's okay with it?" She says with a big smile as she bounces on her toes.

"Sure, I'll do that. I'm sure it will be fine though. Everything sounds great! Let me know what times fit Sidekick's schedule," Finn says with a relieved smile.

"For sure! I'll text you later!"

"Perfect! Thanks Brittany."

Later on that evening Brittany sends Finn a text:

 ** _To Finn H_** ** _: Sidekicks is available Saturdays 3 -4pm, Sundays 11am-1pm, and Wednesdays 8-9pm._**

Finn responds immediately, letting her know that she will check his Tank hours and let her know which time works best for him and that he would want to try to make it twice a week.

Brittany reminded Finn to check in with Kenneth; she knows how sensitive the guy is.

Finn assures her it's fine and that he already asked.

* * *

During the weeks that pass, Brittany gets more and more frustrated with The Tank. First of all, she found out that her paycheque was a little stingier than usual. It's not because of her pay cut because she knew exactly how much she made with the cut. This was way less. She went to Kenneth to ask him about it, but all he said was that she was only there assisting Leigh so since she only did half the work, she only got half the pay. Brittany did her best to keep her cool until she couldn't take it anymore and she was about 10 seconds away from quitting when one of her regulars (a 18 year old boy) gave her a huge hug thanking her for everything she has done for him. He told her that he was being picked on at school but since this was his graduating year, he was going to turn things around. Apparently, some guys tried to pick a fight with him and was about to throw him into the lockers when he used some of the techniques she taught him and knocked all three guys to the ground by using only three moves. No one ended up getting suspended and the three guys actually apologized to him and sincerely looked scared and said something about a ninja. He told Brittany that she taught him to have confidence in himself and to be proud of who he was and not to take shit from bullies. (yeah, she said that). And even though she knew that Kenneth was being a little bit of a bully, when the young man said " _I'll see you next week, Brittany! You're my frikin hero!"_ she couldn't get herself to leave just yet. She had to stay. She had to stay for people like him.

It's been three weeks since Brittany began teaching again at The Shark Tank again, no wait, it's no longer called The Shark Tank anymore. That's right. Apparently all the money Kenneth had saving up _was_ actually to renovate the studio. Except it wasn't to buy new gear and equipment, it was to change all the signs, logos, pamphlets, apparel, and website. The place is now called, Lowell's Workout Studio and Training Centre. Santana couldn't stop laughing when she heard the name. She thought it was a joke until Brittany stared at her with the most serious look on her face. That's when she realized, this shit was true.

Brittany was seeing less and less of her girlfriend. Santana has been working long hours at the film studio finishing everything up. She had to re-do an entire song because one of the idiot crew members didn't turn on one of the mics while she was recording so when they played it through, her voice was muffled. Geniuses. By the time Santana gets home, she's exhausted. She grabs a light dinner, drinks a shitload of water, and does her best to cuddle with Brittany and watch TV, but eventually ends up falling asleep on the couch while Brittany is flipping through channels. A few times, she was so knocked out that Brittany ended up grabbing an extra blanket and pulling it over the both of them, and goes to sleep next to her. This was one of those times.

Brittany had snuggled up next to Santana on the couch, a blanket covering them from the ribs down. Santana's back was against the back of the couch with both her hands tucked under her left cheek. Brittany had her lips just above Santana's forehead, one arm around her waist and the other tucked between them. They were sleeping relatively comfortably, as comfortable as two grown women can be sleeping on a couch together when suddenly…

"… get OFF ME!"

Brittany's eyes shoot open as soon as she's wakened by the yell but as soon as she's able to focus her eyes, she feels a quick dull pain against her chest and shrieks when she feels herself falling. Brittany's upper back hits the floor with a thud, her legs still on to couch.

Santana sits up in a panic and looks around, completely confused as to where she is or where that loud shriek came from. "What the fuck? What the hell was that? Brittany? Brittany?" Santana looks around her and then looks down. "Britt? What are you doing on the floor?"

Brittany rubs the back of her neck and leans up on her elbow to glare at her girlfriend, "Why don't you tell me what I'm doing on the floor?"

"I don't know, sleeping? Britt, why didn't you sleep on the couch with me like you usually do?"

Evidently, Brittany's glare isn't working. Santana has no clue what is going on and they just stare at each other. Brittany shakes her head because, fuck, Santana is just so damn cute when she wakes up and that confused look on her face is just so fucking adorable. Brittany takes in a deep breath and removes her legs from the couch so she can stand up properly. Santana opens her arms for her but then brings them back in with a pout when Brittany refuses to move.

"Are you sure you're not gonna push me off again?"

"What?" Santana's face is contorted in confusion and it makes Brittany smile.

"Babe, you fucking hadouken'd me off the couch."

"I, what?"

"You kamehameha'd me to the floor."

Santana looks even more confused than before, her face is even more scrunched up, "Are you speaking English?"

Brittany chuckles and sits down on the edge of the cushion. "You," Brittany boops Santana on the nose, "need to watch more cartoons, or play some video games. Are you telling me you've never heard of Street Fighter or Dragonball Z?"

"Oh! Street fighter, the one with the girl in the short skirt with the legs and the upside down flying kick and that other girl with the cute beret and the camo leotard," Santana's eyes widen as Brittany pinches the bridge of her nose and shakes her head.

"Yes, yes, that would be Street Fighter. Leave it to Santana Lopez to only remember the female characters that are almost half naked."

"There was a school girl in that one too wasn't there?" Santana blushes and leans further into the couch – away from Brittany.

"Such a lesbian," Brittany shakes her head but looks gently into her girlfriend's eyes.

Santana shrugs cutely, "That I am."

Brittany tucks a piece of black hair behind Santana's ear, "Did you have a bad dream, babe? You kinda yelled something then pushed me off the couch."

Santana's mouth opens and her eyes pop open, "Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry, Britt. Is that why… that's why you."

Brittany nodded, "Yup, that's why you found me on the floor. So, do you remember what your dream was about?"

Santana furrows her brows and bites her bottom lip while she thinks. She closes her eyes tightly and when she finally opens them, she has a troubled look on her face. "I do. I barely remember what the whole thing was about, but I do remember I felt angry." Brittany nods for her to continue as she strokes Santana's forearm. "I think… I think it had something to do with Kenneth. Something about being at work filming and he came in and said some stuff about you? I think. And I got really angry. I remember yelling at him. Yelling loud, but he wouldn't even listen. He just kept going on and on about you and I got more and more angry. I think we even got in a scrap and he was on the edge of a staircase and he held onto my wrists and I finally got so mad that I shoved him off the steps. Wow. I'm violent."

"Geez, you are. So, like, can you do that for real next time?"

They both chuckle at Brittany's serious-but-not-so-serious joke.

"I wish I could babe. He's being a real asshole."

Brittany licks her lips and nods, "I know. He is. I was actually thinking of getting some advice from Sue. I know Quinn has been talking to her, but I don't think Quinn knows everything he's doing to me too. So, I think I'll see if Quinn and I can meet up with Sue when she comes back and tell her everything and see what she thinks we should do."

"That's a great idea, Britt." Santana intertwine their fingers together and turns to look at the clock behind her. "Shit, it's only 4am, let's try to get a few more hours of sleep, babe."

Brittany looks at the time too. She stands up and pulls on Santana's hand, "Let's go upstairs to sleep. That way, even if you do decide to push me, at least I won't fall off the bed."

Santana slaps Brittany on the arm, "I said I was sorry."

"I know," Brittany kisses Santana on the cheek as they make their way up to their bed.

* * *

Brittany notices an increase of her regulars at Sidekicks and a decrease at LWSTC. Brittany isn't getting the 100% occupancy in her LWSTC class like she used to, she's down to about 85%. With that being said, she still has the most numbers in her class compared to the rest of the programs offered. Leigh has his own class on Sunday afternoons now teaching another advanced kicking boxing class and then a semi-contact fighting class that includes points for each permitted contacted strike and take downs. According to some of the members that continue to go to her Thursday night classes, Leigh only gives special attention to a specific few and the others just follow along the best they can. Cassie being one of those that receive special attention. Needless to say, she has stopped going to Brittany's class and is at the top of Leigh's class. Brittany's not surprised at that though; Cassie did have some pretty good talent.

Sidekicks can't get any better. Brittany loves working there and the fact that most of her regulars are willing to commute all the way there to take her classes makes her incredibly happy. Her feelings towards LWSTC begin to fade but she's still not willing to quit. There are still people there that she loves and cares very much for and Kenneth hasn't been giving her any problems lately; he just stays in his office most of the time.

Santana is completely finished with her musical and they are just working on editing the film before the screening in a few months, which has nothing to do with her so she's been spending a lot of time with Brittany. In fact, she's been working out at Sidekicks as well. She began taking some Judo classes at Sidekicks as well as Yoga and high cardio endurance training. She takes some of Brittany's classes too and Eric is more than happy to let her drop in without cost as long as the class isn't at maximum capacity. Brittany continued doing her extended back-to-back classes on Monday nights due to high demand and Santana usually takes the second one since the first class is usually completely full.

One Monday night, Brittany is doing partner drills with paddle pads and Santana is doing some lunges with resistances bands off to the side of the studio. The music is blaring and Mia the receptionist is nodding her head to the beat. There are a few people sitting on the seats waiting for the second class. Class is going very well and everyone is working up a sweat when Brittany glances at the door and then freezes. Her eyes stay trained on the door and she straightens her back. The rest of the class follows her gaze. Santana finds it weird when everything falls silent except for the music still blaring in the background. Brittany has stopped talking, people have stopped chattering about, and nobody has made contact with a paddle pad in 5 seconds. So either the class suddenly sucks and everyone is missing their targets or something is wrong. She looks over at Brittany and follows her eyes to the door as well. She drops her resistance bands and stands up straight, crossing her arms over her chest.

Cassie is leaning against the propped open studio door with her own arms across her chest as well.

Brittany is feeling nervous but she doesn't know why. Kenneth knows she teaches here. Cassie must know, but even if she didn't before, she does now but it shouldn't matter either. Brittany has no idea why she is feeling the way she is feeling, it's a little like she wants to vomit. It must be Cassie's little smirk. She's wearing a lime green LWSTC jacket and on the left chest is her name embroidered in black thread. Brittany takes in a breath and tries to shake herself out of it, she claps her hands to gather everyone's attention, and it works.

"Okay everyone, roundhouse kicks to the paddle. Right leg first and don't forget to keep your hands up you gotta protect your – "

 _Clap, clap_

Everyone turns their attention back to the door.

"You gotta protect your head. It's important. Especially since none of you are ever going to actually get in a ring to fight anyway, what's the big deal right?" Cassie starts walking up to the class.

Santana begins to step forward and is about a metre away from the mats when Brittany puts an open hand out slightly at hip level to tell her to stop, and she does but not without her fists clenched together and her legs trembling; ready to pounce.

"What are you doing here, Cassie? Can you please step off the mats so I can continue my lesson? I can speak with you in 10 minutes when we're finished," Brittany says with a bite her in her words. Her left hand begins to ache just thinking of the encounter with this girl.

"Oh, I won't be long, Britt-Britt," Cassie smirks and looks over at Santana before scanning the rest of the class. Santana is two seconds away from charging at her but she speaks again, "Hey Dorothy, Erin, Samantha, Jordan, Brett, Kris…" Cassie makes eye contact and nods at all of Brittany's regulars that have transferred from LWSTC. Damn that girl was good with names. "James, you're here too! Kit, Connie, Bailey… how's it going guys?" Every single person whose name was mentioned either ended up looking more pissed off than before or ended up looking scared. "I just wanted to tell you that we miss you over at Lowell's Workout Studio and Training Centre. Leigh has started an amazing semi-contact sparring class where you can actually put those moves to good use instead of constantly hitting objects that don't hit back."

"You watch your mouth, bitch!" Santana storms up towards Cassie and is pulled back by the inside of her elbow by Brittany when she passes her.

"Oooh, the scary girlfriend. Can't keep up with the class so you have to stand in the corner and do lunges? Are your legs not strong enough to handle – "

"Why you fucking tramp, how 'bouts I show you –" Santana tries to pull her arm away from Brittany but she has such a tight grip on her pulling her back.

"Cassie, you need to leave," Brittany steps between Santana and the other blonde.

Eric emerges from his office, "Hey! What's going on? You, you're not a part of this class, please leave immediately," he directs his words at Cassie.

She raises her hand to surrender and backs away from the matted area. She sends the class a wink before she opens the door to leave.

Brittany apologizes to the current class as well as the second wave of participants. She speaks with Eric first about replacing the interrupted time by extending the class by a few minutes and Eric nods and goes back into his office.

When the second class starts and the class is warming up with laps, Brittany's arms are on her hips and there is an irregular scowl on her face. She is definitely not as chipper as usual. Santana stops next to her.

"Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Brittany shakes her head and pushes Santana away by the stomach gently for her to continue her laps. She has no intentions of giving any special treatment to anyone, even her girlfriend. Santana understands and bites her lip before continuing running with the class.

Brittany is feeling guilty for being such a moody instructor right now. She's pushing the students hard and she knows that by the way Santana is sweating and breathing. Since Santana has been taking her class regularly, her stamina has improved 10 fold and her strength and techniques have developed nicely but today, Santana is hitting the bags and attacking the pads extra hard and Brittany knows she's imagining Cassie's face. When the class is over, Brittany turns off the music and the students quietly gather their things before leaving. Today, Brittany has no questions directed at her. People are cautiously looking at her before they exit the studio, she gets a few " _bye's"_ and " _see you next week's"_ but that's it. It's a weird and very unusual dynamic.

Santana goes to change and Brittany tells her that she's going to talk to Eric and explain what happened before they leave. Understandably, Santana nods and tells her she will wait for her on one of the chairs by the entrance.

Brittany knocks on the door to Eric's office twice before entering.

"Eric, I'm sorry about what happened earlier."

"Take a seat, Brittany," Eric's face is serious and she doesn't like it. Usually Eric is just as happy and bubbly has she is, but not today.

"I have no idea what she was doing here. I'm so sorry."

Eric nods and rubs the back of his neck, "Who is she? Like, and ex or…"

"She was one of my students back at The Shark Tank. There were some… issues… and she hasn't been back in my class since. I'll go talk to Kenneth as soon as possible to make sure that doesn't happen again."

Eric bites his upper lip and nods again, "Thank you, Brittany. I just hope you understand that I can't have this happening here. I don't want the students or any of the staff to feel threatened. This is a safe place and I don't want to constantly have your classes interrupted and having to extend the classes for missed time. It runs late enough as is and I don't think many of them would appreciate that, especially since a lot of them live pretty far away."

Brittany holds her chest with both hands because it hurts and it's filled with guilt, "I completely understand, sir. I will make sure this doesn't happen again. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Brittany. You should get home, it's getting late. I'm going to head home now too."

Brittany nods and stands up from her seat and opens the door, "Thank you."

"Oh and Brittany?" Brittany turns around when she's halfway out. "My name is Eric, not sir. I don't run that kinda place here," he smiles.

Brittany smiles back and nods. She grabs her bag and walks to the main entrance. Santana stands up and Brittany takes her hand as they walk out and down the steps of Sidekicks.

* * *

"Britt, baby. Wake up, I made you some breakfast."

Brittany clenches her eyes tighter and groans. She reaches over to the night stand and feels around. Santana knows exactly what she's looking for and picks up her phone 3 inches away from where her hand was frustratingly searching and gives it to her.

"Thanks," Brittany mumbles and looks at the time. "Ugh," she moans and sits up while dangling her legs off the bed.

Santana sits down next to her and brushes the blonde hairs away from her face and kisses her cheek, "What are you going to do before you go teach today?"

Brittany drops head onto Santana's shoulder and closes her eyes. "I think I'll try calling Sue again. Maybe set up a meeting with her and Quinn when she gets back."

Santana hesitates then asks, "Are you going to talk to Kenneth about what happened yesterday?"

Brittany shrugs, "Maybe I'll talk to him on Thursday after my class."

Santana turns her body to the side and it forces Brittany to lift her head off her shoulder. Brittany looks at her then looks away, "Britt, are you scared to talk to him?"

Brittany feels her nose get a little tingly but sniffs to recover. She shrugs, "I don't know."

Santana places her hands on Brittany's shoulders, "Wait, why are you scared to talk to him?" Brittany shrugs and shakes her head, trying her best not to make eye contact with her. Santana drops her body lower, searching for the blues she's so in love with. "Baby, you know you can tell me anything, right?" Brittany nods. "Why are you scared of him?"

Brittany takes in a breath to control her emotions before she speaks, "I'm afraid that if I piss him off any more that he'll fire me like he already has three other instructors and I'll let people down. I'll let Sue down. I'll let my students down. I'll let myself down. I've never been fired from anything, ever." Her heart is racing at those words and her eyes are starting to brim with red.

However, Santana isn't satisfied with that answer, she knows there's something else. "Brittany, you know that if he fires you, it's his loss. Everyone knows what kind of person he is. Sue is sure to support you, most of your students have already gone to Sidekicks, and for you?" she trails, "You're the most amazing instructor out there. It shows with your numbers at Sidekicks and even from reviews they say that you're the best there is. Brittany, is there something else?" Brittany's mouth opens then she closes it and shakes her head while looking at her knees. "Fine," Santana says as she stands up, "I'm going to finish making breakfast and you can come out when you're ready. I know you, and I know something else is bothering you, but if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you to." She gives Brittany a quick peck on the top of her head and makes her way towards the door. Just as Santana reaches the doorway of their room she finally hears the words she was looking for but not expecting.

"He makes me feel stupid." Santana turns around and leans against the doorframe. Brittany's face is in her hands and she mumbles again, "I feel so stupid when I talk to him and he never listens to me anyways. So, what's the point? I'm not… I'm not good with words and he points it out to me making me feel dumb. He uses words that confuse me or he takes the conversation in circles and you know how that confuses me even more and when I get confused he laughs at me," Brittany is running out of breath and she coughs out a sob.

Santana clenched jaw relaxes when Brittany finishes speaking and she realizes she's crying. Santana understands that Brittany is very sensitive about that and runs back to her and rubs her back up and down, "Oh, Britt. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't know he did that. I knew he was an asshole, but why… why didn't you tell me?"

Brittany sniffs and drops her forehead onto Santana's shoulder again, "I didn't want you to think I am stupid too," she hiccups.

"Hey," Santana shifts back and gently lifts Brittany's face up to look at her. She wipes away the tears with her thumbs. "I would never think that because you're not. If you were, people wouldn't be lining up to take your classes. Your workshops wouldn't be at maximum capacity and you wouldn't be interviewed for the Lima Liner. Britt, you're smart and talented and beautiful inside and out. Please don't let the words of one penis head take that all away."

Brittany breaths out a small laugh, "Penis head?"

"Yes, penis head," Santana smiles as they lock eyes. She kisses Brittany on the nose then on the lips. Her thumb wipes away additional streaks her tears have left. "I love you so much, please don't ever doubt yourself."

Brittany nods, "I love you too."

They have breakfast and then Brittany goes to call Sue and finally picks up. Sue is going to back in town in two weeks and she promises they will sit down and have a proper conversation about what happened as soon as she's back.

* * *

When Brittany comes home from Sidekicks, Santana is sitting on the couch biting the skin on the knuckle of her thumb. Brittany drops her bag next to the door and tosses her keys into her purse when she notices Santana completely zoned out in front of a blank TV, biting herself but before she can say anything, Santana takes in a quick breath and speaks first.

"Don't be mad, okay?"

...

That's it for now. Thanks for all the love and motivation. Comments? Reviews? Constructive criticism? Please be kind.


	32. Chapter 32

AN: Sorry ya'll. Short chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

When Brittany left for her class Tuesday evening, Santana left soon after to go back to her apartment to collect her mail. Everything Brittany had told her is running rapidly through her head. Every word that Kenneth said to her, every time Kenneth made her feel dumb, or every time he intentionally confused her and messed with her head. She's about a block from her apartment when she stops and looks towards the direction of her apartment, then down the perpendicular street. She turns the corner and starts walking away from the building with her chest aching and her blood raging.

She bursts into LWSTC completely ignoring Quinn's greeting and walks straight into the backroom that Kenneth had made into his office. Honestly, this is way too big to be an office. It's supposed to be the staff breakroom and meeting room, but nope, it's unofficially his office now since he started hanging up his certificates, and even his participation award from some lame community centre performance. There are cans of cola stashed in the mini fridge he brought and chocolate bars sitting on top it.

"We need to talk," Santana says as soon as the door is open.

Kenneth puts his cola down and turns in his seat. Santana can see that he's been googling women's bathing suits and she feels immediately disgusted.

"Brittany's girlfriend! Sandra right? Brittany's not here today." He's clicking back on his Google search bar only to go to more bikini pages until he decides to close his laptop completely.

Santana roll her eyes, "I know Brittany isn't working today and my name is Santana."

Kenneth shrugs and takes another sip of his cola and burps, "What can I help you with, San-tan-a?"

"You need to control your students, do you hear me? You can't have people like Cassie barging in the middle of other people's classes in other people's studios. That's disrespectful and just plain classless," Santana has her arms over her chest and her eyes are spitting flames into his soul.

"I can't control what other people do and besides, I have no idea what you're talking about." He leans back in his chair and places both hands behind his head to support it.

Santana marches forward and points a finger at the sloppy, arrogant man, "Look, I know about you and I know about your history so you better step up and tell Cassie to quit her shit before I release all the information I know to the press." Kenneth is beginning to look nervous as he sits up straight in his chair. He opens his mouth to say something when Santana raises a finger to stop him, "… and trust me I can destroy you and your little studio here."

"You wouldn't, Brittany loves this place too much."

While true, Santana thinks quickly, "Brittany loved The Shark Tank. The Shark Tank that was run by Sue Sylvester. Not this worm hole you turned it into."

Kenneth decides to call her bluff, "You know nothing about me or my past."

"Oh yeah? Let's see what Kyle has to say about that." She taps her foot on the ground and raises an eyebrow.

Kenneth jaw drops and he stands up. "You do that and I will destroy Brittany," he says as he grits his teeth.

"Please! Brittany is the best thing you have. The only reason you even have a kickboxing class is because of her and don't say it's not true because we all know it's true. She is the most popular martial arts instructor in this city, possibly even in the entire State. She deserves way more than what you give her and maybe if you treat her with a little bit more respect her students would stay here with her instead of jumping ship to Sidekicks where they cherish her the way they should. They treat her right and she treats them right. You could have had it all Kenneth. Sue gave it all to you and you ran it to the ground." She shakes her head at him. "You hide in this office, sipping your sticky disgusting cola and eating your chocolate bars, what kind of fitness club do you run? You are exactly what this studio is now. Garbage. A sloppy, disgusting mess. You are abusive, homophobic, and a repulsive cheat and trust me when I say that I _will_ run an article on you if you don't start appreciating Brittany and the rest of the staff here." Kenneth looks like he's running out of breath or that he's about to get a heart attack. He slumps back down into his chair and rests his chin on his fist with his elbow on the arm rest. "Get Cassie to stop," are her last words before she turns on her heels and exits the room then the studio; again, ignoring all the stares from the members as well as Quinn.

* * *

"You what?"

Santana swears that Brittany hasn't blinked for over a minute.

"Look, I think what I said really got through to him. He needs to treat you better and he's the only one who can stop Cassie from pulling those stunts at Sidekicks."

"You threatened him," it was a statement not a question.

"Barely," Santana says with a shrug.

"Santana!" Brittany presses on her temples with her fingertips, "You shouldn't have done that. He has so much power, probably more power than we can even imagine in the world of martial arts."

"Wha – what do you mean?" Santana's heart drops down to her stomach and she begins to worry.

Brittany sighs and sits on the corner of the coffee table and faces her girlfriend. "Kenneth has a lot of connections from all his experience he's had in this industry. Sure, he's a shitty person and has a shitty teaching record, but he also trained one of the best in the country and that says a lot. Also, judging by how quickly he bought The Tank, he has a lot of money and with money, comes 'friends,'" she puts in air quotes.

"Brittany, I – "

"Santana, I know you were trying to stand up to Kenneth for me but there was a reason why I didn't do it. Sure, I love the people there and yeah, I'm loyal to the Tank and to Sue but also this. Santana, Kenneth can ruin me."

At this moment, Santana begins to panic. _Kenneth can ruin me_ , is circling her head. He was right. That is exactly what he said to her. "Brittany, I'm sorry. He can't… I couldn't let him do what he did and say and get away with it." Santana has her hands on Brittany's knees and Brittany's face is buried in her own hands. Santana feels horrible. Just then, Brittany's phone vibrates and causes both their hearts to skip a beat.

Brittany takes a deep break and picks up her phone, "Shit. Shit shit shit."

Santana takes a peek at the name on the phone. _Kenneth L._

"Fuck, Britt. I'm sorry."

Brittany stands up and walks into the bedroom to close the door, "Hello? Hi Kenneth…" her voice fades away from Santana the further she disappears into the room.

"Fuck! Fuck! Shit!" Santana throws her face into her hands and prays that Kenneth isn't threatening Brittany's career. She takes a couple of deep breaths and paces the room; wringing her wrists.

After about 10 minutes, Brittany comes out with a stoic look on her face. "He offered me a raise."

"What?" Santana doesn't think she heard right.

"He offered me a raise, more than what Sidekicks is paying me."

"Britt, that's great!" Santana's face lights up but drops as soon as she hears Brittany speak again.

"No. He wants me to leave Sidekicks. He will offer me a raise if I'm willing to teach 5 days a week there unless I have to leave town for other work." Brittany drops down on to the couch and just stares into the wall. "What do I do?"

"Where do you want to be?"

Brittany bites her lip and then licks it. She's about to say something but then just shakes her head. She stands up again, "I need to take a shower."

Right away, Santana grabs her phone and scrolls through her list of contacts, finds the one she's looking for and taps it with her thumb.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up…"

"Hello?"

"Quinn! I need your help can you talk?"

"What's wrong? Where are you?"

"I'm at home, well, Brittany's home and I think I fucked up big time."

"I'm not far away, I'll be over soon."

About 5 minutes pass and there's a knock on the door. Santana opens it and Quinn runs straight in.

"What happened? Is everything okay? Where's Brittany?"

"Brittany is fine... I think. She's in the shower right now. I need help, Quinn and I didn't know who else to call." Quinn crosses her arms and nods for her to continue, "I went on a rampage with Kenneth… You… you know, you were there. Anyway, I said a lot of stuff to him because I wanted him to stop Cassie from interrupting Brittany's class at Sidekicks – which she did, that little bitch – and I threatened him with his past, hoping that he would give Brittany a break and treat her better and now… now he's giving her an ultimatum. And, fuck! I think I really fucked up Quinn, what should I do? You know Kenneth better than I do, what should I do?"

"Well," Quinn starts off gently and calmly, "Now that I know exactly what happened, I'm not sure what she can do and I'm not sure what I could do to help her because I just got fired." She looks up and there's fire in those green eyes.

"You what?" Santana can't seem to move anymore. Every muscle in her body becomes immobile and she can barely breathe.

"Yeah, he said I should have stopped you from coming in and barging into his office. He said I didn't do my job, so he fired me." Santana's mouth drops open, trying to find words to say but nothing comes out. "Yeah, and he said that since Brittany is his most prized possession now, he'll give her all my shifts and pay her everything she deserves." She pauses and looks away for a moment before staring straight back into Santana's dark eyes, "You did this to me." She points a finger at the brunette.

"Quinn, I didn't know he would do that. I just wanted what's best for Britt, I didn't think he would go that far… I'm –"

"Oh he would, and he did. He knew I was friends with Brittany so this is him getting back at her, at you! Santana, I needed that job! I don't have a girlfriend who I can rely on for a house and cash. I need this job when I'm not acting, I have bills to pay!" her voice is getting louder.

"Quinn, I'm sorry, you know I am, but you know I'm not using Brittany for this house or her money. Please don't be saying shit like that." Santana is beginning to feel her blood boil now.

"Why don't you stop meddling in people's lives and keep your mouth shut? Brittany is a big girl and she doesn't need her little girlfriend to protect her. Unless she's too stu –"

 ** _SLAP_** _!_

Quinn's eyes widen as soon as she swoops her head back towards the fuming Latina. A pink hand print already starting to form, but before Santana can react…

 ** _SLAP_** _!_

Santana's face flies to the right and a stinging pain flashes on her left cheek.

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?"

Both girls turn to face the stairs and they see Brittany descending the final step. Both girls look at each other in a panting fury. Their jaws are clenched and they both have a mark on their cheek; Quinn's more apparent than Santana.

"Nothing, I was just leaving," Quinn says as she picks up her purse from the floor and leaves. Slamming the door behind her.

"What the hell just happened, Santana?" Brittany says as she walks towards the Latina looking carefully at the pink mark on her face.

As soon as Brittany raises her hand to gently touch her cheek, Santana pulls back and sits on the couch shaking her head; she talks to her hands because she can't look at Brittany. "Quinn got fired because of me."

"What?" Brittany sits on the arm rest of the couch.

"Yeah, apparently when I stormed in, she was supposed to stop me and because she didn't, he fired her. Oh, and also because I talked you up to be the amazing person that you are, he's giving you all her shifts." Santana winces because that sounds really, really bad.

Brittany exhales, thinking deeply then sighs and sits down next to her girlfriend and puts a hand on her knee, "I know you were only trying to help. So, I want to thank you for that, but can you please just tell me before you decide to go all Lima Heights on my bosses next time?" She rubs Santana's knee up and down.

Santana nods, "Okay," she says timidly. "I'm sorry."

"I'm going to call Quinn tomorrow and clear things up with her after she's had a chance to calm down. I'll go into the Tank… er… whatever that place is called now and talk to Kenneth about everything and try to get her the job back. If not, I'll see if Eric can use an extra pair of hands," Brittany says gently and puts her hand tenderly on Santana's reddened cheek and checking out Quinn's damage. "That was quite a slap."

"She is a good one," Santana admits then locks eyes with Brittany. "Thank you for forgiving me."

Brittany kisses her cheek lightly, "I love you. You know I can't stay mad at you for long. You're too hot," Brittany says like it's the most obvious thing in the world and shrugs with a smirk on her face.

She called Quinn and apologized the next day for everything that happened. Quinn apologized as well saying that Santana was right to go off on that asshole and that he deserved everything she said to him and he deserved to be scared by her little threat. She was just mad because she did really need the money, she hated depending on her rich parents who thought that money equaled love. She wanted to make it on her own without them, so Brittany promised to look into Sidekicks for her. Quinn thanked her and told her to tell Santana that she was sorry and that she deserved to be slapped by the Latina after saying everything she did. Brittany smiles into the phone when Quinn tells her that Santana is very protective of her and that she can tell she loves her very much.

* * *

Thursday arrives and Brittany needs to decide if she wants to take on her new position at LWSTC or leave and go full time at Sidekicks. She considers the pros and cons of both of them.

LWSTC Pros: It's close to home, it's comfortable, she knows most the people very well and a large amount of her students can come back since it will be closer to their homes as well. She will get paid more and have more control over the studio like what Kenneth promised. Cons: Kenneth.

Sidekicks Pros: Eric is amazing, the pay is good, Santana is welcome there whenever she wants, staff is great. Cons: It's far, the late night classes mean that she doesn't see Santana as much anymore if she has to film in the mornings.

When she walks into the studio Kenneth approaches her with his hands in his pocket and his gut protruding over his belt. "Brittany! I have a camera crew here to film your class for a commercial. I also have a make-up artist and a hair stylist ready for you in my office. Please!" he gestures towards the door.

This is all very weird for her as she looks around and people are setting up lighting fixtures and cameras. Finn is getting his hair done and so is Leigh. _What the fuck is Leigh doing here?_ Brittany can't really say 'no' to this commercial because in her contract agreement, she allows him to use her photos and videos from the studio if they are used for promotional purposes for as long as she's working there. Her hair and make-up is done and she looks amazing. She has just enough make up on to make her skin look flawless and to make her eyes pop. Her hair is in a high pony with just enough bump on top to make it look kind of like a Mohawk; total badass. She changed into her bright green LWSTC tank top and black shorts. She's wrapping her hands when the members of her class start trickling in. They begin looking around and Finn is asking them to sign release forms. Some people get excited and stay, but some of them leave; not wanting to be filmed; Brittany assumes. Once the class is settled in and everyone has been told to try their best not to look at the camera, Brittany gets the go ahead to begin. Something is off though and she can't seem to put her finger on it. The class is going great, Leigh is on the side helping students (more than she has ever seen him do) and he's actually doing a decent job. Brittany is still leading and everyone is following; even Leigh. He's doing all the moves Brittany is teaching and he's doing them well. Midway through the class, Brittany realizes why things seemed peculiar. There are no males in her class today. They're all female except for Leigh. She did see about 8 men walk into class, including the boy that called her his hero, but he left as well. Brittany shrugs it off and takes it as them not wanting to be in a commercial.

After the class is finished and the crew is packing up, Kenneth takes Brittany to the back to have a chat with her.

"So, have you concluded your decision on my offer?" he opens his mini fridge and pops open a can.

"I have thought about it, and it's a great offer, sir, but do you mind if I have another week to think about it?"

Kenneth nods, "I thought you might. Sure, go ahead and let me know next week."

"Um, sir?" Brittany says as she looks at her feet.

"Go on."

"Where's Quinn?"

He chuckles his sinister chuckle, "I fired her."

 _Wow, that was extremely honest._ "Why?"

"She asked for a raise and I wouldn't give it to her. She didn't deserve as much as you and Leigh so I declined. She got mad and threatened to quit, so let her." Kenneth shrugs, "she doesn't belong here anyway, she wasn't strong enough or talented enough to teach."

"But she had her own cardio class," Brittany protested.

"While she did, I only want the best and the best wasn't her. I hired a new cardio instructor the day after she left. His name is Carlos, you should meet him."

Brittany thinks about it and thinks about all the staff in the studio now. They're all male, except for her and Ashley. She doesn't mention it though; it would only make matters worse. Before she can say anything negative she chews on her bottom lip and nods, "Thank you for giving me more time to think about it, I'll see you next week."

Kenneth nods and raises his can of cola towards her to salute her exit.

When she leaves, she says bye to Finn. Finn still looks like a nervous little mouse whenever Brittany talks to him at the studio but he won't tell her why. They had a private class at Sidekicks last week and they had so much fun. Finn was so relaxed when he was with her and he got in such a great work out. He had progressed so much in an hour that Finn asked to do another class with her as soon as possible. They are currently working to find another feasible date. Now, she stands there talking to him, trying to coax the truth as to why he's acting the way he does here, when she skims through the release forms.

"Finn, um, is this right? It says here that _only females between the ages of 18 to 35 are allowed to participate_?" She looks up at him, turning the page towards him and pointing to the words.

"O-only today, for the filming."

"Why? What's wrong with older women or men? They're my regulars too."

"I don't know, Kenneth wrote it. I only handed it out."

"And you didn't say anything?"

Finn shrugs, "He's my boss, I figured he has his reasons."

 _Creep._ "But Leigh was here."

Finn shrugs again, "National champion."

Brittany rolls her eyes at those two words. Brittany wants to be frustrated at Finn but when he looks up at her, his eyes look sad and guilty and he quickly looks back down to his paperwork and grabs the release forms from Brittany's hand to document.

"Alright, I'll see you later, Finn. You still on for extra training?"

His face lights up slightly, "Absolutely! If Saturday works for you, I'm in."

"Consider it done."

* * *

Friday night, Brittany is lying in bed next to Santana chattering away about her day and how she got Quinn a part-time receptionist job at Sidekicks to share with Mia since it's been getting insanely busy. They're poking fun at each other when her phone rings. Brittany is about to turn around to reach for her phone when Santana pulls her back playfully and gives her a peck on the lips before letting her go.

"Finn?" Brittany says as soon as she answers.

"Brittany, um, I'm here to set up an official meeting with you and Master Kenneth tomorrow at 1pm."

Brittany scrunches her brows and turns to look at Santana before answering, "What official meeting?"

"I – umm – Kenneth wants to talk to you tomorrow and I think it's important," he whispers a lot less formal than before.

"About what?"

"I don't know."

"Is it about my full time job? Because I told Kenneth I'd tell him on Thursday."

"I don't know."

"Can you tell me what you do know?" Brittany is getting irritated and Santana now has her ear propped up next to the phone as well.

"I… don't know."

"Okay, forget it. Where and when?"

"Tomorrow. 1pm. Starbucks on 9th street."

"Can Santana come?" Brittany asks both Finn and Santana at the same time as she looks over at her girlfriend to confirm she's okay with going with her and receives a nervous smile and a nod as her response.

Finn falls silent and she can hear him scramble through papers. Santana rolls her eyes. Typical Finn.

"I don't know… umm… I guess so? Kenneth didn't say anything about Santana."

"Alright then, Santana and I will be there tomorrow."

"What was that about?" Santana asks.

"I don't know," Brittany says as she sets her phone back down on her nightstand. She turns to Santana and she's smirking. They both chuckle at those words. "But really, I don't," She says when they finish laughing at Finn's inability to know much of anything that's going on.

"Maybe Kenneth just wants to know your answer sooner? Maybe he can't wait?" Santana tries to ease the situation.

"Maybe, I just... I don't feel good about this."

And neither does Santana, but she doesn't say anything. She just takes her girlfriend's hand and kisses her knuckles, "I'll be there. Whatever happens, I'll be there."

Brittany snuggles into Santana's arms as both of them try to fall asleep as soon as they can so they can get this meeting over with.

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Please be kind. Also, if you have any questions please feel free to PM me.


	33. Chapter 33

AN: Ugh, I'm so sorry. Work and life in general has got me unable to write lately. I'm so behind. You're gonna hate this chapter too and I can't promise you a new chapter will be posted within a week since I seem to get busier and busier. I hardly have time to sit in front of my computer. Anyway, I hope you don't hate this chapter too much. Love you all for continuing to read. You make my heart happy.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

Santana and Brittany walk into Starbucks at 12:55pm. Santana is wearing a professional white blouse with dark blue dress pants and Brittany is wearing shorts and a hoodie. Major contrast in outerwear but that's the way they do it. They're holding hands skimming the seats to see if Kenneth has arrive yet. Nope. They find a table with two chairs and Brittany asks the table next to her if she could take one of theirs, they just nod their heads and continue their conversation. Brittany gets Santana a coffee and sets it down in front of her.

"You didn't get anything?" Santana asks her as she pulls the coffee towards herself.

Brittany sets a cup of water down, "Just this."

5 minutes pass.

"What do you think he wants to talk about?" Brittany asks as she looks over to Santana.

"No idea, babe. But whatever it is, good or bad, I'm here. We got this together."

Brittany nods.

Another 5 minutes pass.

"Where the fuck is the fucker?" Santana shakes out her hands. They're feeling tingly from anticipation.

Finally after another 5 minutes, Kenneth shows up with manila folder in hand. Brittany stands up to wave him down. He waves at her with a smile and makes his way towards the girls.

"Here we go," Brittany breaths and Santana rubs her thigh to calm her.

"Brittany," he says calmly and collectively as he pulls out the empty seat and sits down. Then frowns when he looks at Santana, "I didn't know you were going to bring someone."

Brittany shrugs, "I wasn't told I couldn't."

"Fair enough," he nods.

The three of them stare at each other for what seems like forever until Santana can't take the silence anymore, "You called this meeting so we assumed you had something to say."

Kenneth clears his throat and places the folder down onto the table.

"Brittany, it has come to my knowledge that you weren't being completely honest with me. You betrayed me in ways I never expected from you."

"What?" The girls both said simultaneously.

Kenneth takes in a breath and sighs as if he was actually disappointed, "I trusted you to run your classes out of my studio and you are constantly trying to take my clients over to Sidekicks, advertising Sidekicks at _my_ fitness centre."

Santana flashes a look at Brittany but Brittany looks confused as fuck.

"What? I never…"

Kenneth puts his hand out to silence her. "When you got 'injured'," yes he used air quotes. _Asshole_. "A bunch of clients left; over to Sidekicks mind you. Now, I don't know if you did that on purpose to get sympathy from our members so they would leave and follow you or whatever, but I am going to assume the best and trust that you didn't do that, although I didn't see you promote me or my club at any given time either."

"How was she not promoting it? She was TEACHING for you! She did a damn commercial shoot for you. She taught when her hand was broken, and by the way, what do you mean 'injured'?" Santana shared the same air quotes Kenneth used. "Brittany broke her goddamn hand, she had a fucking note from the fucking doctor. You can't tell me that she faked it. That's utter bullshit, even coming from you," Santana spoke loudly, pointing a finger at Kenneth and people are Starbucks were beginning to look over. Brittany didn't move she just furrowed her brow, bit her bottom lip, and took everything in.

"Excuse me young lady, I'm not talking to you right now, I'm talking to Brittany."

Santana huffs and sits back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest, she licks her lip and bites her tongue not wanting to make this any worse for Brittany.

"I would never intentionally take members from you over to Sidekicks," Brittany lean forward with her back straight, looking straight in Kenneth's eyes making sure he knew she was speaking the truth.

"Are you sure?" Kenneth challenges. "Because that's not what I heard."

"Wha – what are you talking about?" Brittany's hands are feeling clammy and she keeps them tucked into her sleeves.

"I heard from someone that you were trying to get them to join you at Sidekicks."

"What? I never did that," Brittany looking a lot more apprehensive than before.

"I also heard that the headcount for your class at our club went way down," Kenneth flips through a few pieces of paper from the folder.

"What? When Leigh took over?" Santana questions with a quirked eyebrow.

Kenneth looks over to the Latina but chooses to ignore her. "All I know is that from all the evidence collected, you were advertising for Sidekicks at my club, taking my members there, ignoring the promotions of my fitness centre, and taking in private classes so you can convince even my most loyal staff to leave."

"WHAT?" Brittany says and grasps at the edge of the table causing it to shake. "I never asked him to leave you. He just wanted extra training and I was going to provide it for him."

"At Sidekicks," Kenneth says still sifting through the papers. Brittany lets out a breath of frustrated air and leans back in her chair. "I also have proof that you have been taking my clients because of all the members that signed up with Sidekicks and quit LWSTC are pretty damn comparable. Also, they have been sighted at their studio."

"You don't own these people, Kenneth. If they choose to leave and follow the better instructor to wherever she is going, they are free to do so. You have no right to keep them in your prison of a fitness club."

"But she has no right to take them away either! She is not allowed to promote another fitness centre in MY building!" Kenneth raises his voice slightly but calms back down as he crosses his right leg over the left. "She was sabotaging a brand new owner because why? Were you jealous that I hired Leigh?"

Brittany can't take it anymore, she's trying her best to keep her tears at bay, but the frustration is starting to get to her. She only shakes her head.

"Pshh, if only Leigh can keep as many students as Brittany, you wouldn't have any issues." Santana scoffs.

"Brittany, I need you to leave LWSFC. You have done what you did and now I'm done with you. I was deceived by your kindness and you betrayed me. You stole from me and took people to the other side. I can't trust you anymore, so I'm going to have to let you go. We can't have that type of energy at our… my studio. You broke my trust."

"I'm gonna break something," Santana mutters. She takes a chance and glances over at Brittany. The blonde is leaning back on her chair, slouched and lacking energy. Her head is down, looking at her stomach as she wipes her tears with her sleeve. Santana's heart immediately drops.

"I didn't mean to," Brittany shakes her head, "Finn just needed help, I didn't ask him to leave. He was supposed to ask you."

Kenneth just shakes his head.

Santana decides to speak up when Brittany sniffles, "Okay, okay. Look, obviously it was some sort of misunderstanding. She didn't mean to take your clients; they obvious just liked her teaching techniques and wanted to go with her. Come on, look! She's feeling horrible!"

Kenneth looks over at Brittany with disappointed eyes. Brittany is staring blankly at the edge of the table, she hasn't stopped looking at it since he told her to leave. Every so often she wipes away a stray tear that leaked out, but other than that, she doesn't move. Her hands are still tucked into her sleeves, gripping at the cuffs and she looks so damn small in her hoodie.

"Still, she can't be trusted. I let you teach at Sidekicks because you asked and I thought I would help you out, but you took advantage of that and took everything else away from me. If this place closes, it would be your fault," he points a finger at her.

"You know what?" Santana stands up from her chair so quickly her chair flies back a few inches screeching across the floor. Heads turn from other tables at the noise. "Brittany doesn't need this. She doesn't need you or the shithole you call a studio. There is a reason why your clients are following her and not staying with you. There's a reason why Sidekicks has been so amazing to her. It's not because she 'stole' your clients, it's because you couldn't satisfy them and just by looking at you, I feel like you would have a whole lot of trouble satisfying a lot of things... or people," She shrugs. "So your members' leaving is all on you. If you're going to blame Brittany, tell me why the people who are not even in her Sidekicks' class are leaving." Kenneth opens his mouth but Santana continues before he can speak up, "People are leaving because you manage the place horribly, you fire all your hard working employees, you have no consideration for any of your members, and most of all, you're a manipulative, selfish, arrogant dickhole that would rather destroy everything anyone has ever built than to admit that you have no idea what you're doing." Santana looks at Brittany and her eyes are still unfocused but at least she's not crying anymore. Her brows are slightly pinched and she's obviously chewing on the inside of her bottom lip. She puts a hand on Brittany's shoulder, "Britt, let's go."

This snaps Brittany out of the zone she was in and stands up. She makes eye contact with Kenneth and the man just shakes his head at her with a disappointed look on his face. Brittany clenches her jaw and turns away. Santana grabs her hand and leads them away from the coffee shop; leaving their beverages on the table. As they make their way to the front door, Santana glares at anyone who is looking at them in which, they quickly look away and go about their personal conversations.

* * *

The air was thick with uneasy tension on the ride home. No one said anything. Santana kept her left hand on the wheel and her right on the gear shift. Usually, Brittany would grab her hand and rest it on her thigh or would just lay her hand on top of Santana's while it sat idle on the shift stick. However, this time, Brittany just sat staring out the window, keeping her hands to herself. Santana was really worried if she did something wrong. Maybe she wasn't supposed to say anything to Kenneth, maybe Brittany was mad that she spoke up against the man when she was told not to before. Santana cursed herself for exploding yet again.

Once they reached the house, Santana parks the car but keeps the ignition running. Brittany unconsciously opens the door to get out and begins walking towards the house before finally stopping when she realized Santana wasn't behind her. She turns around and takes a few steps back towards the car, "Why aren't you getting out?"

Santana doesn't know why she's not getting out. She's afraid she's done something wrong again. She doesn't want Brittany to be mad at her. Maybe if she gave her some space, she could calm down and talk to her about all this later.

"Um… I'm gonna head back to my place to check for mail and stuff. I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"K."

She shifts her gear into drive but when she looks back at Brittany, her pout is now trembling and she's looking down at her feet.

 _Fuck._ Santana thinks to herself. She knows this look and she wants to get rid of it as quickly as possible. She puts the car back in park and removes her keys. She hurries to the sidewalk and wraps her arms around her girlfriend. Brittany buries her face into Santana's shoulder, "Shhh… shhh… It's okay babe. I'm not leaving. I'm here. I can check my mail tomorrow, let's go inside, okay?"

She can feel Brittany nod against neck and they walk back towards their home. Santana opens the door and Brittany sits herself at the couch while Santana grabs a bottle of water out of the fridge and sits down next to her. She sees Brittany wipe her face again with her sleeve and grabs her a box of tissues.

"Do you think I'm useless?" Brittany says out of nowhere after she throws her tissue into the garbage.

"What? No. What makes you think that?"

"I can't even stand up against someone who treats me like shit. I froze. I didn't know what to say when he had so much evidence pointing that I am, in fact, a horrible human being."

"Brittany Pierce, don't you dare say that again." Santana scoots closer and pushes Brittany's hair away from her face and behind her ear. "No, you are not horrible. He's horrible. He didn't even listen to a word you said. He came to the meeting with one objective and that was to fire you. He didn't care if you had reasons for doing what you did. He didn't even want to see hear it, he didn't want to believe anything you said. Hell, he probably doesn't even believe anything I said. He's the kind of guy who sees only one person, himself. Well, no, two: Him and Leigh. You could give him all the proof in the world that you had no ill intentions and he wouldn't believe it. Brittany, you did nothing wrong. Finn on the other hand… Finn could use a mother fuckin ass kicking right about now."

Brittany just shook her head at that, "It's not his fault. I'm sure he was just doing what Kenneth told him to do. He probably didn't even know this was going to happen. Plus, he actually did need the help and we had a good time training together. I was the one that asked him to do the lesson at Sidekicks."

"Even so, it would just be nice to kick his ass, you know?" This caused Brittany to chuckle and a smile came over Santana's face at the sight. She kissed Brittany on the cheek, "You can get through this, Britt. I believe in you. You have me and Quinn and Sue and Eric, and we're all here for you. Kenneth doesn't have anything on you. He needs you more than you need him, trust me. Lowly Fitness Martial something something Centre won't last without you."

Brittany takes a deep breath in, "This would be a very good time to check in with Sue."

"She's gonna be in town soon right?"

Brittany nods, "In a few days."

* * *

A few days pass and things are quiet. Brittany is still working at Sidekicks and Santana has the M&M audition lined up for next week (they finally decided to use Red as the lead in the commercial). Both Brittany and Quinn meet with Sue and they tell her how the studio she built is now crumbling into nothing. Sue informs them that she had no clue that Kenneth was going to be such a jerk. She also had no idea he was going to change the name. She trusted in his experience to run the place not knowing he was going to run it to the ground. However, she told Brittany that she completely supports her in whatever she chooses to do. When Brittany asks for advice, Sue just tells her to stick with Sidekicks since it sounds like a wonderful place and that she is going to pay Kenneth a visit.

Santana had called up Rachel and gave her an earful about her pathetic boyfriend that got her girlfriend fired. Rachel was angry and defensive at first until Santana told her about the meeting and Brittany's reaction to all of it. With only a few more words and couple more threats and insults towards the Michelin Man, Rachel promises to talk to him about everything if Santana promises to not hurt or injure him in any way. Santana made no such promise but refrained from hunting the rhino down until Brittany has cleared her for hunting season.

While Brittany continues teaching at Sidekicks and Santana does her best to go when she can, whether it's taking Brittany's class or Eric's class or even Quinn's cardio class. Although, she no longer has Kenneth to answer to, Sidekicks has had her pumped up every night and she goes home happy and full of adrenalin. Needless to say, Santana enjoys their evenings together even more because Brittany comes home full of positive endorphins that she needs to release and Santana is more than happy to help, like every night.

One day, right after Brittany's kickboxing boot camp class started she saw a man standing at desk talking to Mia. She does a double take and _fuck_. Kenneth turns to sit down on one of the seats by the front door and Mia gets up from her chair and goes to the back office. Eric's office. Santana goes up behind Brittany, "What's happening? Why is that fucker here?"

Brittany shakes her head and shrugs. Santana takes a few angry steps forward but Mia emerges from the office and waves Kenneth to come in. He stands up, pulls up his pants and makes eye contact at Brittany as he walks to the office. Brittany's mind is scattered for the rest of the class. She misses a few warm ups and completely forgets about stretching the right side until Santana begins hinting it at her when the rest of the class looks confused. She miscounted a few times and did three sets of right kicks and only 1 set of lefts. It was probably the worst class she has ever taught. Even worse than the one Cassie walked in on, but still better than any classes Leigh has lead at LWSTC. The girls had no idea when Kenneth had left but when the class was over, Eric was standing against the table watching. His arms crossed over his chest and a sympathetic look on his face.

 _This can't be good._ Santana thought. When the class finishes and Brittany has finished answering all the questions from the participants, she walks up to Eric.

"Sorry, I was a little off today. I got distracted. Um, is everything okay?"

"I sensed that, Brittany. Why don't you get changed and meet me in my office."

* * *

Two knocks on the frame of the opened door.

Eric looks up from his desk and waves Brittany in. He gestures for her to close the door and she does. Santana waits outside impatiently.

"Brittany…" Eric sighs with concern. He takes a deep breath, "As you know, Kenneth Lowell was just in here and we had a chat." Brittany nods, her hands are shaking so she puts them on her lap so Eric doesn't see her nervousness. "He told me… he told me about some stuff that may have happened."

"Eric, I can assure you that –"

Eric raises his hand to stop her, "Regardless of what he told me, I don't believe even half of what he said. I don't believe that you are what he says you are and I do believe that he misconstrued many of the things that happened to benefit himself and to make himself look good…" Brittany sighs in relief, "but…"

"But?" Brittany's nervousness is back and she tightens her grip on her sweatpants.

"But… I can't have you teaching here anymore."

"What?!" Brittany leans forward onto the desk and her palms push the desk forward just a bit as she lifts herself off the seat just a little. "Sorry," she pulls the desk back to its proper position. "But Eric, you just said you didn't believe anything he said."

"I don't. I don't believe Kenneth is a good man. I don't believe you are a deceitful woman. However, Kenneth is a powerful man." Brittany shakes her head, not understanding. "Brittany, this studio is everything to me. You know that right?" Brittany's forehead scrunches inward and she shakes her head not because she doesn't know that, she does. But she doesn't understand why he's doing this. "It is. It's everything to me. My wife and kids depend on me with this studio. She had refused to let me open this place for years because she was afraid I'd spend our entire lifesavings on something that could possibly end up failing. I came out trying to make this place the best fitness studio this town has ever seen and Brittany… Brittany you were so helpful and I am eternally grateful. This place is still new and I have yet to pay off the debt it has cost me to turn this place into what it is today. The equipment, the flooring, the chains on the ceiling, the mirrors, the staff. Brittany, I can't let this place die." Brittany stays silent. She has never been strong with words so she lets her body language speak for itself, she leans back into the chair and crosses her tight fists into chest and lets her eyes bore into the man who is about to fire her. Eric sighs dejectedly and rubs his face with his hands. "Kenneth showed me paperwork on a couple of buildings he owns. This being one of them. He told me that if I didn't fire you, he will evict me or raise the lease until it's through the roof and unaffordable for me. Or he can just decide to demolish the entire building completely if I chose to continue to stay and not follow his orders, Brittany, I am so sorry!"

Brittany only shakes her head and licks her lip. She wants to say bad words to this man, but she can't get herself to do it. "I understand," is all she can say. "You have to do this for your family."

Eric nods, "Brittany, I want you to know that whatever you do in the future, I will support you. You have my blessing and I believe good things will come to you. You are a good person with a good heart and skills that can blow this country away. I would help you any way possible if you let me, but I can't…. I can't let you stay."

"Kay." Brittany stands up slowly and turns the knob.

"I'm sorry."

Brittany nods again while facing away from her ex-boss. She exits the room. When Brittany comes back out into the main studio, Mia had already packed up and left. Santana stands up with concerned eyes and Brittany only has the energy to shake her head; barely making eye contact.

"Britt? What happened? Something happened. What is it?"

Brittany feels numb now. This is something she had gotten used to quickly, "I… I gotta pack my stuff." She remembers and turns to go to the locker room.

"Wait, what?! Brittany. Wait!" Santana chases after her and grabs her wrist. "What happened? Did… he just let you go?"

Brittany nods and turns towards the locker rooms again. Santana stands there for a moment trying to absorb everything that just happened. Finally it hit her; Brittany just got fired.

"Mother fucker!" Santana rushes to the office and opens the door so hard it leaves a dent in the wall. Eric is standing next to his desk and snaps his head up from putting a few towels away in his bag. "What the fuck did you do that for? What the hell did Brittany do to you? Do you know how much shit she has been through the last few weeks? Do you have any idea what you are doing?" Santana all but screams.

"Santana, I have explained everything to Brittany. I am so, so sorry, but I didn't have a choice."

"Oh, you are _so sorry_. Well that makes it all better doesn't it? She trusted you. She put her all into this fucking place and this is how you thank her? Fuck you, Eric!" Santana takes two quick steps forward and uses the momentum to push Eric backwards. He stumbles and backs into his file cabinet.

"Santana! Stop it!"

Santana whips her head to look behind her Brittany is coming through the doors and pulls her back by the right wrist and hangs on tightly in fear of Santana actually physically hurting Eric.

"No! He has no idea what that asshole is talking about. Kenneth is a liar and he's spreading shit about you and this fucker just fired you and you want me to stop?" She reaches forward with her left hand and smacks Eric's sports bag off his desk and onto the floor; contents of the bag spilling out.

"Santana, STOP!" Brittany yanks on her arm. "It's not his fault. He explained everything to me. Kenneth told him everything and he believes none of it."

Santana looks up at Eric and he nods his head in agreement as he straightens himself up.

"Then why –"

"Kenneth threatened him too. He's gonna close this place down if I'm not gone. Santana, it's okay."

"It's not…" She turns to Brittany and her voice is calmer, "Brittany, it's not okay. None of this is okay. You deserve so much more. So much better than all this bullshit."

Brittany gives a weak smile, "I have you and everything is okay when I have you. I'll take a break and figure things out. I'll be okay."

Santana takes in a breath and then looks back at Eric, still pissed off at the man. She points to him, "No me gusta," and walks out the door.

Brittany and Eric exchange understanding smiles and Brittany follows her girlfriend out the door.

That night, even though Brittany said everything is fine, Santana knows things aren't fine. Brittany is now officially unemployed and she, herself, has yet to acquire the M&M gig. Sure, they have a decent amount of savings in the bank but technically they're both unemployed at the moment and Santana knows it's troubling the blonde. Brittany slept tensely that night. She curled into herself, gripping one hand tightly to the blanket and the other one gripping Santana's sleep shirt. Her forehead look uncomfortably creased.

Santana woke up to Brittany firmly pulling on her sleep shirt and her facial features were irritated. Santana turned to face her and ran her thumb over Brittany's furrowed brows and then leaned up to kiss the tension off her forehead. "Things are going to be okay," Santana whispered softly. She runs her hand over Brittany's forehead, down past her cheek to her chin to try to relax her. She scoots in closer and fixes the blanket over Brittany's shoulders. She wraps her arm over her girlfriend and Brittany automatically clings onto her, digging her face into the raven hair falling over her neck. "Things are going to be okay," Santana says again. "I love you." With those words, Brittany takes a deep breath in and relaxes as she breaths out and falls into more peaceful sleep still attached to her girlfriend.

* * *

Sorry guys. Things can only get worse before it gets better...

Comments? Reviews? Constructive criticism? Please be kind.

P.S. Buying Naya's book tomorrow. WHATTTT? I'm so excited to read it.


	34. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

A few weeks pass and Santana is leaving for New York in a few days to start filming her M&M's commercial. She was cast last week to play opposite the Red M&M in a minute long commercial, but this wasn't just any commercial, it was a Super Bowl commercial so this is a huge deal for her. Mercedes called her about the auditions in town a few weeks back. A couple days later, Santana had a call back and she snagged the commercial with her sexy looks and beautiful smile. Was she excited to go to New York? Absolutely. Was she upset that Brittany wasn't planning on joining her? Undeniably.

Ever since Sidekicks gave Brittany her final paycheck, she's been extremely disheartened. She hasn't gotten any gigs to stunt lately and her usual energetic persona has plummeted to practically nothing. She won't stop calling herself useless and Santana is worried that she has fallen into a mild depression. Santana has been trying her best to improve the blonde's mood but nothing is working. She won't go out, she won't play with Lord Tubbington, she won't touch her hot chocolate in the morning or ice cream in the evening. She refuses to watch her old videos when Santana wants to put them on to motivate her to get back into it. Every time they are watching a TV show or a movie with a fight scene, Brittany would either change the channel or get up to go to the washroom or grab some water. It's as if she wants nothing to do with Martial Arts anymore. No gyms would hire her and she has no idea why. Even their sex life has slowed down to only a couple times a week and more often than not, Santana is the instigator.

"Brittany, please come to New York with me. It will be good for you to get out of the city for a bit," Santana pleads for the umpteenth time as she tugs on Brittany's jean loop while they're standing in the kitchen eating a sandwich. Brittany has also lost quite a bit of appetite compared to before. She says she doesn't work out anymore so she does not need to consume as many calories and while a part of that might be true, Santana knows it's her unhappiness that's causing her loss of appetite.

"Santana, this isn't the time to waste money on travelling," Brittany says without looking up from her sandwich.

"We're not wasting money, Britt. I want you to come with me. We can see New York together and when I'm working you can explore the city or just relax. It would be a good 2 week vacation for us."

"It's not a vacation when one of us is working."

Santana was beginning to feel frustrated. She put her sandwich down and grabbed her keys off the counter. "When I went to L.A. to find you, you had to work too, but I enjoyed it because I got to be with you. You obviously don't feel the same."

Brittany stopped chewing her sandwich and put it back down on the plate as well, "Santana, I don't deserve a vacation right now. I haven't even been doing anything."

"Fine. If that's what you think," She headed towards the door, shaking her head.

"Where are you going?" Brittany asked as she followed Santana out of the kitchen.

"I'm not going to stand here and watch you mope around the house. I'm going to go back to the apartment. If I'm going to sell it when I get back, I want to make sure it's in tip top shape." She puts on her shoes and places her hand on the door knob and sighs, "Brittany, just… just think about New York, okay?" She looks up at the blonde and sees her chewing her bottom lip. When she doesn't give any sign of acknowledgement to her question, Santana leaves the house and closes the door behind her.

Santana has stopped asking Brittany about New York. Brittany would get irritated and then Santana would get angry and they would only end up fighting so the best thing to do was to stop asking. They haven't had sex since that day and now Santana is standing at the door with her luggage and Brittany standing next to her holding her hand.

"I'm going to miss you," Brittany says quietly. The blonde's eyes were rimmed with red and the grip on the Latina's hand is tighter.

Even though Santana feels numb to Brittany's moping, she still feels her heart beat faster when she feels that bit of energy left in her girlfriend. She strokes the back of the pale hand with her thumb, "Take care of yourself Brittany, I'll be back in two weeks. I'll miss you too."

Santana leans in for a quick kiss and Brittany responds by closing the gap. For the first time in many days, Brittany brings her free hand up and pulls Santana in gently by the back of her neck deepening the kiss. Not 5 seconds into the kiss, just as Santana was sinking into it she is surprised with a choked sob coming out of her girlfriend and into her own lips. Santana is about to pull back but Brittany keeps her hand on Santana's neck keeping her from doing so.

"I'm so sorry," Brittany mumbles into Santana's mouth and it just breaks her heart to see the love of her life this way. Brittany pulls her in tighter and kisses her again hard.

"Britt," Santana pulls back. Although, Santana loves the feeling of Brittany's lips on hers, this isn't the way it should be. She puts her own free hand on Brittany's chest and pushes her back. Finally Brittany breaks the kiss. Her eyes are bloodshot and tear tracks are evident on the pale cheeks. "Brittany." Brittany is looking down, trying to catch her breath without coughing and wiping her nose with her sleeve. "Brittany, look at me please," she says more forcefully this time. Santana brings her hand up to wipe Brittany's tears for her and forces her to look up at her at the same time. "I know things are hard for you. Things are shitty, like really shitty right now. But can you do one thing for me while I'm away?" Brittany looks down again and Santana tilts her head back up to make eye contact. "Can you?"

Finally Brittany nods.

"I need you to be strong, okay? You will get through this slump because I believe in you. Now, I don't know what's going on in the industry or why you haven't heard back from those gyms but when I get back we will get to the bottom of this. I want you to call me every night and tell me what you did and how you're doing. I need you to take care of LT because I know that he's been sad ever since you've been out of work and he needs you right now. He feeds off your happiness, well; he feeds off a lot of things but most of all your happiness." Santana sees Brittany's eyes brighten just slightly at her little joke and maybe even a tiny smile. "I love you and I need you to be strong for me and for yourself, can you do that for me?"

Brittany has not lost eye contact with her and Santana knows she's getting through to her. Brittany swallows the lump sitting in her throat and nods, "I can. For you. I love you too."

Santana finally gives a closed lip smile and brings them in for another kiss, this time, much gentler and sweeter. When they break away, the taxi honks (for the third time). "I have to go now, I'll call you as soon as I land."

"Okay," Brittany says quietly.

"Strong?"

"Strong… like an amazon."

"Strong like an amazon, that's right."

With a final quick kiss Santana takes the luggage of her handle and they walk together hand in hand to the taxi. The driver finally gets out of his car, glaring at them for making him wait. Santana will give him a word or two once she gets to the airport and there goes half his tip. It's not like he didn't have the meter running while he was waiting anyway. With a final kiss and an eye roll from the driver, Santana is off to New York hoping to God that Brittany can be _strong like an amazon._

* * *

A week has passed and Santana is working hard so maybe she can get home a couple days earlier. Working with a non-existent life size M&M is a lot harder than she thought. She has to pretend she's frolicking and having fun with something that's not even there. Every night Brittany calls her around 10pm and they talk for about an hour.

"So, how was your shoot today?" Brittany asks Santana a few minutes into their daily conversation.

"Pretty good. I think we may actually be able to finish early. From what I recall overhearing, I only have one more place to shoot tomorrow and then I have to stay for another two days in case there are any changes that need to be made and then I get to come home," she says with a smile on her face. She missed her girlfriend like crazy, "I wish you were here."

"I know, I'm sorry. I just… I couldn't," Brittany says sadly. "But on a more positive note, you might be coming home early and I'm meeting up with Sue on Tuesday. She said she had something to tell me… although she didn't sound too happy about it." Santana could basically hear Brittany frowning.

"Stop frowning, Britt-Britt."

"Sorry."

"Do you think the stuff Sue needs to tell you has anything to do with penis-face?" Santana cannot even use the guy's name anymore so she has settled for anything vulgar in place of his name and it works well for her. It has almost become so normal for them that sometimes they don't even laugh at it anymore; that's just his name.

"I think so," Brittany responded to the 'penis-face' name as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. "Sue has been really great lately. She's been keeping in touch with me and giving me updates on anything she discovers as to why things have gone to shit for me lately. He thinks Sue is still his friend, but Sue assured me that the only way to get information from him is to pretend to be his friend until she gets everything she needs from him."

"And you trust her?"

"I do. She may have been a tough one and she ran The Tank with strict rules and was a little OCD about organization and the way things were run, but yes, I trust her."

Santana can't help but pout herself; feeling bad that she can't do anything for her girlfriend. "I'm really glad Sue is there for you. How's Quinn?"

"Quinn is doing great. I've been talking to her lots lately too. She's keeping me updated with Sidekicks and all the people there. She's been asking me about teaching techniques for her cardio class, which, I don't know, makes me miss teaching but at least I can help out a friend. Apparently people have been asking about me and she doesn't know what to tell them. She's just been telling them I've been out of town until she can think of a better excuse."

"You could've actually been out of town," Santana shoots in and sighs.

"Anyway," Brittany continues and tries to change the subject. "I told her to just tell them I'm out of the teaching and coaching business but she refuses to tell them. She doesn't believe it's going to last. She thinks somehow I will be back in it."

"I believe her," Santana says with a shrug. "Just give it some time, baby."

"I know," Brittany sighs.

"Has Vic or Mike gotten back to you yet?"

"They've been busy with filming so they haven't really been in the loop, but once they get back into it, they'll tell me everything they hear."

"You have some great friends out there, babe."

"I do," Brittany replies. The line goes quiet as the two girls just enjoy being in the telephone presence of each other until Brittany breaks the silence, "I miss you."

"I miss you too, babe. I'm gonna work my ass off tomorrow so I can get home to you as fast as I can okay?"

"Okay. I'm so proud of you, by the way. I should be saying that a lot more often. My gorgeous girlfriend is in fucking New York filming a fucking Super Bowl commercial. I'm so fucking lucky."

"Babe, all that swearing is making me hot and tingly. Please stop or neither one of us will get any sleep tonight," she says in a low raspy voice.

Brittany chuckles, "I love you. You should get some sleep, its past our one hour mark and you need to wake up by 5am tomorrow."

"Yeah, you're right. I love you too. Call me tomorrow?"

"Absolutely!"

The girls stay on the line for another 15 minutes before they're finally able to hang up. Santana is happy that Brittany has so much support from her friends even though the industry she's in seems to be against her, they're holding her up and none of them are giving up on her.

* * *

Santana has all the intention of going home on Thursday. She loves New York but she loves her girlfriend more and she misses her like crazy and according to Brittany, she regrets not going with her. This time apart really made them realize how much they love and appreciate each other. Brittany had even promised her that next time she denies Santana's request to travel with her, even if it's for work, she has permission to bitch slap her for being so stupid. Santana only frowned at the comment and told Brittany that she's allowed to regret not going and that it will be her pleasure to slap her for denying her request (although she knows she'll never in twenty-million years do it) but to never call herself stupid again and to take back those words. After 10 minutes of convincing, Brittany took those words back and was given Santana's nod of approval even though Brittany couldn't actually see it.

It's Tuesday afternoon when Santana receives three new text messages from Brittany during her break. She's sitting in a chair with her hair stylist frantically touching up her already flawless locks so everyone can go for lunch. She's sitting in front of a giant mirror with blinding lights when she opens the texts.

 ** _From Britt-Britt: Mother fucker fucking fucker! Im literally shaking with anger right now and I swear I am going to fucking get that asshole back for all of this. I hate him, Santana! I hate him. I hate him. I hate him! I hate him so much my fingers are trembling and I cant even type properly. ajkrjfjARHAHHH! FUCK! :(_**

 ** _From Britt-Britt: I'm going to the gym now. I really gotta hit something cuz if I don't I'll explode or commit some sorta murder or sumthin. But I need to calm down and think this through before I do anything crazy. I gotta wait for the perfect time and I need u right now baby. I need u to help me think cuz my mind is only full of violent scenarios. I need your vicious words baby. Man, just typing 'baby' is already calming me down. I miss u :(_**

 ** _From Britt-Britt: Just read Sue's letter again. Nope. I'm still angry as fuck. Going to the gym. Call u 2nite._**

"What the fuck?" Santana says aloud and her stylist turns around from putting the curling iron away. They make eye contact and Santana waves her off, "Not you." The stylist nods and packs her stuff before going on her lunch break.

Santana reads through the texts a few more times and finally types out a reply.

 ** _To Britt-Britt: What happened? What did fuckface do now? You went out with Sue today right? What did she say? What letter? Babe, u really need to give me details. Sigh. I hope ure ok. Take care of your knuckles. I'll be waiting for your call tonight. Love you._**

She sets the phone down and goes for a light lunch before going back to work. She knows she'll be thinking about this all day until she gets on the phone tonight with Brittany and it's going to feel like forever.

* * *

That night, Santana waits in bed for Brittany's call. She had not texted since her last message. It's passed 10pm and Santana is starting to worry. She knows how angry-Brittany can be and she really hopes she didn't go night jogging again because who knows who's out there. She knows Brittany can handle of herself but she can't help her mind from wandering to the worst possible situation. Just then her phone rings. Finally!

"Hey Britt. You're late," she says as soon as she answers the phone.

"Hey San, I know. I'm sorry. I kind of fell asleep after my work out at the gym. I just woke up."

"How long were you at the gym for?" Brittany was silent. "Britt? How long were you at the gym for?"

"4 hours," Brittany mumbles quietly.

"4 HOURS? Brittany what are you doing to yourself? That's way too long!" Brittany goes silent again and Santana knows why, "You didn't just do 4 hours at the gym did you? What else did you do? How long did you actually work out for?" Brittany was known to work out way too much when she was angry. It wasn't normal or even humanly possible Santana thought. Most people would run out of steam 1 to 2 hours into a workout, but Brittany seemed to go on forever when something was bothering her and it was the only way to calm her and clear her mind. So for her to go over 4 hours, something really bad must have happened.

"I did 4 hours at the gym, then jogged twice around my regular route so that took about another two hours, then I hit the bag for another hour and then I did some Yoga."

"No wonder you fell asleep," Santana sighed.

"It must've been the Yoga."

Santana rolls her eyes unsure if it was a joke or not, "Brittany, seven hours of working out is not healthy. You can't do that to your body."

She hears Brittany sigh on the other line, "I know, I know. I couldn't help it. It's just… the letter that Sue gave me."

"What is going on, Britt? What letter?"

Santana hears Brittany shuffling on the other side. She knows Brittany is getting changed and crawling into bed and this can only mean one thing; it's going to be a long story.

"Apparently the reason why Sue met up with me is because she received an email from Kenneth a couple days ago so she printed it out so she can give it to me in person and… it's bad, San. Really bad."

"What did he say to her?" Santana asks, sitting up in bed because she can't get herself to relax against the headboard. She's way too anxious to hear what happened.

"That's the thing, it wasn't just to her. Evidently, he emailed everyone he knew in the industry including Eric, Ashley, my other martial arts friends like Vic and Mike. He emailed all fitness centre owners he had the email address to as well as the director and producers of K.O. Kandi, and a shitload of people I don't even know!"

Santana can hear Brittany's voice begin to rise but at the same time waver. "What did he say, baby?" She says as she tries to calm her very heated girlfriend.

"It's too long, I'll take a picture of it later and send it to you. I can't read it out loud, it would just make me more angry. Let's just say, now I know why I can't find a job at any gym lately and why I haven't heard anything from my agent lately…." Brittany trails off as if she had just come to realize something, "…shit."

"What?"

"Have you noticed a lack in your own work lately? How you've had this M&M job lined up for you for a while, before all this shit happened?"

Santana thinks for a moment then realizes, yes. Usually Mercedes would call, text, or email her jobs and auditions regularly if she finds anything fitting for Santana or even small roles that might not even be worth her time. Usually, Santana is declining them if she doesn't feel comfortable playing a part or if she was waiting on something bigger, but lately, Santana hasn't received anything from Mercedes other than the commercial. She hasn't really noticed because she has been focused on this job and on Brittany.

"I... I guess you're right. I didn't realize it until you mentioned it, but yeah. I haven't heard from Mercedes in a while. What do you know?"

"I can't believe he's attacking you too. I am so going to KILL him!" Brittany raises her voice and slams her fist into the mattress.

"Okay, Brittany. Please calm down," Santana said softly, "breath." She hears Brittany exhale slowly, "Good. Can you at least tell me how this involves me, or should I read it in the letter too?"

Brittany sighs, "He sent emails to everyone, San. He knows people in the film and TV industry, not a lot, but some, and I think he sent them e-mails too. I wouldn't be surprised. He's trying to destroy both our careers. He can destroy mine but the fact that he's even touching yours... fucker is walking on fire."

This time it's Santana that sighs. She knows things have been tough for Brittany but she figured she could support them for the time being until Brittany can find herself another job, but now with Kenneth in the way of her own career, she's actually starting to worry. "I'll talk to Mercedes tomorrow; right now I think you need to try to get some sleep. I have some Chamomile tea in the cupboard, make yourself a cup and try to relax. Send me the letter whenever you can but I think talking about it is making you more worked up. Besides, I think Lord T needs some cuddles. Can you cuddle him for me tonight?" Santana says trying to calm her girlfriend.

"Okay, yeah. I should. My body is really exhausted now anyway. I'll do that. You should get some sleep too. I'll send you the picture as soon as we hang up. Thank you, baby. I know you wold never cuddle Lord Tubbington, but I'll cuddle him _for you_ tonight."

This brings a smile to Santana's face. Not a big one, but a smile nonetheless. "Good. Sleep well, Britt-Britt. I'll see you Thursday morning."

"I can't wait. I love you, Santana."

"I love you too, Britt."

The girls say their goodnights and Santana gets up from bed to go to the washroom. When she gets back she has a new picture text from Brittany. Not just one, she has a few. She sits in bed and begins reading the letter Kenneth sent to basically everyone he knows.

 _Dear friends,_

 _I am here to announce that Brittany Pierce no longer works under me or for Lowell's Workout Studio and Training Centre. Some of you may know her personally and some of you may have even worked with her. Some of you might have only heard of her, and some of you might not have heard of her at all, but as my friend, I need you to know that she is disloyal and will betray you as soon as she gets what she needs from you. I need to warn every one of you that she will steal from you and take everything you have if you decide to trust her. She will charm you with her personality and then destroy you with her lesbian ways. Oh, some of you might not have known. She's a lesbian. That might explain her manipulative tactics and aggressive behavior. (Might want to steer clear of that one – her lesbian partner, Santana Lopez is quite a hostile and violent handful as well)._

Santana's eyes go wide and she can almost feel smoke exiting her nostrils. She swipes to the next photo.

 _I have done possibly the best I could do to make Brittany feel comfortable at the new fitness centre after I took over The Shark Tank. I understand that it was a big change for everyone, but I did my best to accommodate to everyone and to keep them happy. I spent lots of money to turn the centre into something amazing and was even willing to give Brittany a raise for her outstanding work and how does she repay me? She takes my clients over to another fitness studio she worked at. Yes! She also worked at Sidekicks on the other side of town! Did she ever tell me? Absolutely not! Who would be stupid enough to let 'the great' Brittany Pierce work for another place? She lied to me by telling me she needed to work on a new T.V. show or what have you,_ _but she was really spending her time with the men and women at sidekicks and conducting up a plan to take my clients over to them. If you ask me, that was her plan from the beginning. There was definitely a conspiracy going on. I let her come and go as she pleased; she even stopped teaching for three weeks and got upset when I only paid her half her wage and I'm sure she was out working across town while receiving free wages from me. The lies._

Santana had to get out of bed and pace her room while she read. Her blood was boiling and her teeth hurt from clenching so much. She swipes.

 _I allowed her to advertise herself in the Lima Liner and not once did she mention she worked for me. She got upset when I hired a national champion to be her teaching partner to ease the pressure of being the most popular instructor in my studio. I even hired a crew to film a commercial just for her to promote her skills and talent. I offered her a raise and a full time job but she declined. I gave her free use of our equipment and free classes for her girlfriend as well as free rein of her own classes. And how does she thank me? She takes_ _my_ _clients, promotes sidekicks at_ _my_ _studio, takes_ _my_ _employees and convinces them to learn from her privately, takes_ _my_ _employees over to her other job without my permission, and then has the audacity to kick out a close friend when she decides to visit her at Sidekicks because she was a threat to her teaching job. Her friend came crying to me, telling me that both Brittany Pierce and Santana Lopez had threatened her when she only went over to make peace between both studios. I tell you, this girl is trouble and incredibly difficult to work with._

Santana clutches her phone tightly, imagining Kenneth's throat. She swipes to the next picture.

 _If you want to hire her, I suggest you think again. I am here to inform you that she is corrupt and is the most treacherous person I have ever employed. Do yourself a favor and stay away. I am still bandaging the damage she made to my second home. It is now so bare because of everyone she has convinced to quit. But if you still want to hire her because you think she is best? Don't say I didn't warn you but I no longer would ever want anything to do with her._

 _Sincerely your friend,_

 _Kenneth Lowell_

Santana swipes to the next photo and it's a photo Brittany had just taken of herself with just a slight pout and Lord Tubs in bed together. Snuggled up and cozy with the caption, _'We miss you. Don't get too mad after reading the letter. We will get even - together. Love you. XOXO.'_

If it wasn't for the last photo, Santana might have thrown her phone at the wall. Thank God Brittany knows how to calm her down.

"Well," Santana says to no one but herself, "Asshole wants to play _this_ game. This is a game Santana Lopez can play." With that, she kisses her screen with the current photo of Brittany and Lord Tubbington before she plugs her phone into the charger. She sends a final text to the love of her life before falling asleep with nasty images of violent deaths starring one specific man running through her head.

 ** _To Britt-Britt: I read the letter and I have an idea. Love you too. Cant wait til thurs. XOXO_**

* * *

AN: I know you guys have been waiting a lonnggg time for this. REVENGE. Thanks for sticking with me. I know seeing Brittany hurt has been a downer for all of you and I know some of you were starting to get pissed off, but hey, when someone like Kenneth truly exists in your life, they don't destroy you in one day, they drag it on... and on... and on...

Comments? Reviews? Please be kind.


	35. Chapter 35

AN: Hey guys. Sorry for the very very late update. I've been away and haven't had a chance to write anything, let alone post a chapter. I'm going to be away from the computer for another week or so, so I won't be getting much done in terms of writing. Definitely not my best... but I hope you enjoy this chapter nonetheless.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

"This is Mercedes, how may I help you?"

"Mercedes, its Santana."

"Santana, what do I owe this pleasure?"

Santana thinks about it and decides to go straight to the question in mind. "Mercedes, I need you to give it to me straight. Ever since the M&M gig, have you been looking for new jobs for me?"

Santana hears nothing but silence on the other side but continues to wait. She knows Mercedes and she knows that if she has something to say she will say it.

"I have. I have but you haven't really been what they've been looking for."

"What do you mean?" Santana can sense Mercedes isn't telling her something and she needs to know what it is. If Kenneth sent out that letter to destroy Brittany's career, Santana better work on getting hers back if she is to support the two of them.

She hears Mercedes sigh, "Every time I call whoever it is that's looking for your talent and I mention your name they either start stuttering or they sound incredibly nervous before telling me that they have someone else in mind or that you won't fit the part. I'm sorry Santana. I don't know what happened. It's rare that I can't find you any gigs."

"It's fine. It's not your fault. I know what's going on and I'll send you an email explaining everything. Just...don't give up on me ok? Please?"

"Of course," Mercedes answers and doesn't for one second question Santana. She knows the girl can have an attitude but she's a hard worker and a great talent.

Santana sits in front of her laptop in her room all day on Wednesday. Trying to think of an elaborate way to clear Brittany's name and to destroy Kenneth's reputation. She knows he has power, money, and an incredible ability to lie, but at the end of the day the truth will prevail.

Throughout the day, Santana has been getting texts from Brittany saying that this person or that person called her because they received a strange e-mail from Kenneth. Most of the callers told her that they supported her and that they didn't believe a word Kenneth said in his letter. Some of them hardly knew who Kenneth was and some straight up had no idea why they got the e-mail in the first place but they felt like they should share the new found information with her. However, obviously, due to lack of jobs coming her way, some people believed him, supported him, and/or were afraid of him. Santana was happy to hear that so many people reached out and supported her girlfriend.

Santana would start typing up a rebuttal to his letter but then scrap the entire thing only to start over; nothing seemed to do this situation enough justice. She received a call midway through the day to notify her that crew members from the commercial wanted her to hang out with them on her last day in town. She considered it but wasn't in the mood to go drinking with the group. She settled for an early dinner with them and called it a night by 8pm. As soon as she got back to the hotel, she took a shower and changed into something more comfortable and sat in front of her laptop for another 3 hours before slamming it shut and throwing her face into her hands in frustration.

Just then her phone buzzes. Santana lifts her face from her hands and looks at the screen. It's from Quinn. She picks up.

"Quinn," Santana answers matter of factly.

"Santana. There's a situation."

"What do you mean?" Santana's sits up, suddenly feeling worried. "Is everything okay? Is Brittany okay?"

"Well, I'm with her right now. She came by Sidekicks after the last class was finished to tell me about the letter Sue showed her and asked me if I knew anything about it."

"Did you?" Santana asked, getting ready to go all Lima Heights Adjacent on the blonde.

"Of course not!" Quinn said, completely offended. "If had, I would have told her immediately. Anyway, as I was saying. Eric was long gone before Brittany came in and it was just her and I. She asked if she could get in a little work out and I said yes."

"Okay? And?" Santana was getting impatient at the suspense on her Brittany news.

"... and that was 2 hours ago. She's still going, Santana and I don't know how to stop her. I don't want to get dragon punched but I would also like to go home."

Santana sighed, "Well, I can't help you because I'm in New York."

"You're in New York?" Quinn almost screamed, "Why are you in New York and Brittany is here?"

Santana could hear the confusion in the other girl's voice. "I'm only here for a couple weeks to film a commercial, I'm coming back tomorrow."

"I'm surprised she didn't tell me but I guess we didn't have much time to talk about you because as soon as she showed me the letter we didn't stop bashing the creep. Up until she got fed up and so frustrated she decided to go hit the bag."

"Is she using hand wraps?" Santana knew that was a weird and random question, but she needed to ask. She needed to make sure Brittany was taking care of herself.

"Umm, yeah. I think..." Quinn paused and Santana knew she got up to check for her, "Yeah she is. She must've taken the spares we keep under the desk."

"Okay good. Quinn, put me on speaker and crank up the volume. Go up to Brittany, close enough so she can hear me."

"Okay, but if I get hit, I'm getting my revenge on you."

"Fine, fine," Santana sighed. Really hoping Brittany doesn't hit her because man, Quinn can slap.

Santana hears Quinn shuffling around and assumes she's getting up and walking over to Brittany, "Okay, you're on speaker and she's right here," Quinn says and Santana nods to herself.

"Britt? Brittany, baby, can you stop for a moment?" She waits to hear a response.

"Santana?" Brittany sounds confused as hell and slightly out of breath.

"Hey baby, are you okay?"

"Quinn, where is she?" Brittany asks looking around her.

"She's on speaker."

Santana hears their entire conversation and waits patiently until it's her turn to talk.

"Oh, uh. May I?" Brittany asks and there's a pause and then Santana hears the sweet voice again, "Hi Santana."

"Hey baby."

"I've missed your voice. What's going on?"

"Nothing really. Quinn was a little worried about you and she didn't know how to stop you from killing the punching bag so she called me."

"What? I was no longer than... oh, wait. Oops." Brittany must have finally looked at the clock. "Sorry, Quinn!" Brittany yells over to Quinn. Who, Santana assumes as made her way back to the desk. "I didn't realize it's been so long. I should pack my stuff and get home."

"Call me when you're home?" Santana asks.

"As good as done."

20 minutes later, Santana gets a call and they chat about Santana's ideas. She wants to write something that can deflect everything Kenneth has written, but first there is someone else she needs to contact. This someone would help with a special letter just for the asshole himself.

"I'm gonna need you to do something for me," Santana says as she's typing away on her laptop

"You look so serious, it's adorable," Brittany replies and Santana smiles. She was so into typing out a message that she completely forgot they were Skyping.

"I _am_ serious, Britt. I need you to talk to Sue and ask her if she knows who dickface e-mailed this letter to. At least the important people. When you hear from Mike or Vic can you please let me know what they have to say and how the other people in the industry reacted to it and who else knows?"

Brittany nods and Santana can see the blonde head bob up and down at the bottom right corner of her screen.

"What are you going to do?" Brittany asks.

"I am going to dig deeper into this douche and see if I can come up with a comeback with all evidence pointing to your innocence and how he only tells half the story at most; if he's not completely lying all together."

"Thank you," Brittany says and Santana gives a tight lip smile before tapping on Brittany's face at the bottom of her screen to enlarge it. Brittany is now taking over the entire screen.

"You're very welcome, baby."

"You have no idea how much I appreciate you right now. You've been so patient with me and I've been kind of a bitch." Santana just shakes her head at the comment but Brittany continues, "I'm not good with words or typing out letters and you're brilliant with them and now you're gonna help me write out an entire rebuttal while I sit here and do nothing."

"Not nothing," Santana interrupts, "You're helping me gather information. Very important information, mind you. You said we are gonna do this together, and we are. This isn't just your fight, if he wants to fight this battle with you, he fights it with me too."

"God, I love you so much right now," Brittany sighs with her chin propped up against her fist.

"As opposed to before when you didn't love me as much?" Santana joked.

"Stop it. You know how much I love you, always," Brittany says with a scrunched up brow.

"I do, because I love you just as much," Santana blows a kiss to Brittany. Just then Brittany disappears for a moment and the reappears with a fat cat in her hands.

"Somebody wants to say goodnight," Brittany waves lord T's paw at the camera.

The causes Santana to giggle and wave back. "Goodnight! I'll be home tomorrow around 9am."

"Yeah, you should get some sleep so you don't miss your early morning flight."

"I can't wait to hug and kiss you again."

"Me too," Brittany says as she strokes the cat's head.

"Okay, I'll go to bed now. Goodnight, Britt-Britt. I love you. Goodnight LT."

"Goodnight, San. I love you too." Brittany lifts the pudgy cat to the camera again and waves a paw, "Say goodnight to Mommy number two." Santana's eyes widen at that, "Goodnight Mommy number two," Brittany repeats herself but in a voice she believes sounds like Lord Tubbington.

Santana can't help but smirk and wave back. When she shuts off her laptop she constantly hears 'Mommy number two' in her head and thinks how much she would love to actually be a _Mommy number two_ eventually with Brittany being Mommy number one to perhaps a little blonde one running around their house. _But first_ , she thinks to herself, _get Brittany her reputation back and destroy Kenneth._

* * *

At exactly 9:15am Santana rings the doorbell to the place she has called home for months. She hears footsteps, well, more like foot-runs making its way to the door. Her heart is so happy right now and she bounces up and down on her toes with anticipation. The door swings open and there she is. Her girl. Her beautiful blonde princess. Santana's face beings to ache and she realizes that it's because her smile has taken over her entire face. She takes a step inside and immediately gets wrapped into a warm embrace.

"Welcome home, baby," Brittany says as she tightens the hug.

"Mmmm," Santana hums. She knows no words that can describe Brittany's hugs other than 'perfection.'

Brittany pulls back enough to bring their lips together. What started out as a short kiss heated up as soon as Brittany slipped her hand under the back of Santana's t-shirt. Santana just felt herself melt into the taller girl. They begin to blindly make their way into the house without detaching their lips and Santana reaches behind her to grab her suit case. Her arm swings wildly out behind her but she only seems to be swatting at air. She begins to get frustrated and grunts into Brittany's lips. She can feel Brittany chuckle and Brittany finally breaks the kiss.

"Here, let me," Brittany laughs and takes Santana's suitcase from behind her. Damn thing was no more than 2 inches away from where she was swatting at.

"Fucking luggage," Santana murmurs.

This earns a laugh from Brittany, yet again. "Ooh, look who's up to greet you." Santana follows Brittany's eyes downward and she sees Lord T circling their ankles.

"Or he's just hungry," Santana shrugs.

"AND he's up to greet you," Brittany says seriously with wide eyes. Santana leans up to kiss the seriousness away. "Anyway, why don't you get settled and comfy and I'll whip up a quick breakfast."

"Brittany? Is this really you?" Santana says sarcastically, "You're going to whip up breakfast?"

"Well, like... I bought new cereal and some instant oatmeal," Brittany smirked.

"Yup, it's really you," Santana laughs and earned a slap on the ass by Brittany.

After breakfast the girls sit at the table discussing everything that has been going on. They wanted to figure out a plan to clear Brittany's name and to ruin Kenneth for what he's worth.

"Did you get a hold of Sue or Vic or Mike?"

"Oh! Yes, I did! I have some good news, and some bad news," Brittany frowns and looks at the table. Santana patiently waits for Brittany to continue. "Bad news is that Vic and Mike, as well as many other people in the industry received the e-mail from Kenneth. I told them everything that happened between Kenneth and me to clear the air."

"And they believed you, right?" Santana asks cautiously.

"Of course. These guys know me and they know I would never sabotage someone's business. They totally have my back and agreed to talk to some of the people they know about this situation as well. So far they have both spoken to a few of the directors and producers they know and the great thing is most of them don't even know who Kenneth is so they completely disregarded the e-mail anyway but some of them who do know him were kind of thrown off in whether to believe him or not. Another part of the bad news is that Cody – even though he didn't actually get an e-mail – heard about it and was telling people that I betrayed him too. That I cheated and dumped him for... well... you," Brittany said as she sucked her lips into her mouth.

Just the guys name heats Santana's blood to a simmer, "That is such a lie though."

"Well, Cody and Kenneth were meant for each other. Anyway, Vic told me that because Cody's name has also been tarnished in the industry no one pays him any attention anyway. So he told me not to worry about that. In fact, Vic said that he has another job lined up and they're looking for a female double so he's trying to put in a good word for me."

"Oh that's great, babe. Vic is such a good friend."

"Isn't he though?"

"So is that all the news? What about Sue?" Santana questions.

"Oh right! Sue told me that the e-mails Kenneth sent out had the full list of all the contacts. Apparently, Kenneth doesn't know how to BCC his e-mails," Brittany shrugs.

"Sweet!" Santana says with a little bit of relief in her chest. "That means we can just e-mail everyone he e-mailed – assuming they read it – and clear your name! Oh, I'm so glad Kenneth is technologically inept."

"I hope so," Brittany shrugs. "I guess then they have both sides of the story to work from and decide on their own who they want to believe. But..." Brittany trails off.

"But what?"

"But I don't know more than half the people on there. I mean, I know a lot of movie and television people but as for fitness centres and studios, I really only knew Sue and now Eric. The other people don't know me so it would be hard for them to believe me," Brittany slumps down in her chair.

"But if they know Dickwardio then they know what kind of person he could potentially be; if they have ever seen his true colours."

"I guess we'll have to see what happens."

"Yeah... you're right," Santana sighs. "I'll do my best to write the most convincing bad-ass letter to cleanse the shit he threw onto your name, okay?"

Brittany gives her a smile and nods, "Okay. Thank you."

After they cleaned up their breakfast bowls, they took a shower (together) because Santana wanted to get the cabin air off of her and Brittany, well... Brittany wanted to help. They spent the rest of the day catching up, cuddling, going to Santana's apartment for a bit before going for lunch, more cuddling, eventually taking a nap, then waking and having dinner and finally, more cuddling on the couch.

Santana is channel surfing while Brittany is hugging her from behind and she lands on a rerun episode of K.O. Kandi. She freezes and looks over at Brittany. She can feel Brittany sigh but she doesn't get up and leave the living room like she had done in the past. She keeps flipping the channel just in case it made Brittany uncomfortable.

"You know what?" Santana asks and Brittany hums in response, eyes fixated on some guy hammering something into a doorframe. "As horrible as it sounds, I'm kind of glad Kenneth sent out that e-mail."

Brittany sits back moving away from Santana's body. Santana turns around to see the most confused look on Brittany's face. Confused and a little offended. "Why?" Brittany asks trying to seek the answers by looking into the dark brown eyes in front of her.

"Okay, wow. That sounded really bad." Santana turns her body so she's completely facing Brittany now. She sees doubt in Brittany's eyes and she knows she better get on with her explanation. "You're a nice person, Britt. Like, a REALLY nice person. And... well, Shithead is not. You held on strong even though he was horrible to you because you loved the people and you loved what you did and believe me, I have so much respect for that. I admire your passion, baby, I do. He hurt you so badly and you were patient with him, you always gave him the benefit of the doubt because you believe in the good in people."

"Are you calling me naive?" Brittany is starting to looked pissed, so Santana decided to cut to the chase.

"No! Not at all. You just have such a good heart," Santana places her hand over Brittany's chest. "And all the things he was doing to you was hurting it. You got sad, and I really didn't like seeing you sad. And, I didn't know how to help you because I didn't want to do something wrong again like I did last time when I burst into his office." Santana bit her lip and scrunched her eye brows before looking into Brittany's baby blues again. "But this e-mail. This e-mail was your breaking point and you finally want to give the asshole what he deserves and I'm so glad I get to be a part of it. I can't wait for him to feel what you had felt the past few months, all the shit he put you through. I'm glad he's finally showing his true colours to everyone so we can finally publicly defend ourselves. I..." Santana thinks for a moment, not sure if she's being clear enough in what she's saying, "You get what I'm saying?"

Brittany eyebrows are pinched for a moment before she speaks, "I know what you mean. He got away with a lot of shit and I was too nice to do anything about it. This final straw cracked me and I'm done with him. I literally don't care about his feelings or his job or his studio or any of that anymore. He's basically dead to me and I really just want to smash his face in, but I know I can't do that," Brittany jokes with a smirk.

"I wish you could," Santana smirks back.

"Me too." Brittany says with a small nod.

"So you're not mad at what I said about the e-mail being a good thing?" Santana asks after a few moments of silence. Brittany was probably daydreaming about beating the shit out of her ex-boss.

"Hm? No, I'm not. I know what you mean and I agree with you. I just wish it didn't take me so long to step up and do something about it."

"You have a good heart, Britt-Britt. That's why."

"Thanks."

Slowly, Santana leans in to give Brittany a slow and romantic kiss. She places her hand on Brittany's face and rubs her thumb over her cheek as they continue to kiss. Brittany wraps her arms tightly around Santana, pulling her in closer as she deepens the kiss and trails her tongue along Santana's lips. Brittany slips her warm hand under Santana's shirt and rubs her side up and down before grabbing the hem of her shirt and slowly pulling it upwards. Santana bites lightly on Brittany's bottom lip and tugging it back just to let it go again so Brittany can pull the shirt off over her head and onto the floor.

"We can't forget to clean up our mess this time, your family might come over again and you might miss an article of clothing… or two when you rush to clean it," Santana says as she lifts Brittany's top off and lets her boobs get some air. Neither of them wearing bras after their shower since they've been home for most of the day.

Brittany groans and pulls Santana in closer, "Please don't talk about my family when we're about to have sex."

Santana chuckles and reattaches their lips sliding her fingers all over Brittany's body. Her hand slides between the two of them and palms Brittany's right tit and runs her thumb over her nipple to feel it harden quickly. Brittany plays with the waistband of Santana's yoga pants just slightly pulling them down. Santana makes her way from Brittany's lips to her neck. Giving it open mouth kisses and licks. She works on her pulse point and she can feel Brittany shudder underneath her as she whimpers quietly. She teases her nipples and continues to work on the blonde's neck. Brittany slides her hand down and grab on to Santana's ass and giving it a full squeeze. It pushes Santana's hips forward and she grinds down on Brittany's core.

Both girls moan and Brittany slides her hand from the back to the front; sliding her index finger between Santana's folds. Brittany begins to get frustrated at how restricted her movements are due to the tight yoga pants. She grunts and tries to yank them down but yoga pants don't slide down too easily. Santana sits up and looks into the dark blue eyes, full of lust and love. She removes her own pants and is left with a red thong. Brittany's eyes move from her own to her plump breast down her body to where she sits in her thong with a slightly wet patch on the front.

"Oh god, San. You're ready for me. Come let me fuck you. Please," Brittany begs and she reaches an arm towards her girlfriend.

Before Santana lets her, she pulls down Brittany's grey baggy sweats and also sees a wet patch on her light blue boy-shorts.

"Fuck," Santana mumbles as she feels herself get just a bit wetter while looking at Brittany's soaked core.

Santana scoots forward on her knees while straddling Brittany and gives Brittany the pleasure of removing her thong. Slowly, Brittany does just that and licks her lips. The center of the thong drenched with wetness and Brittany groans at the sight. She pulls it downward and Santana lifts her right leg first then her left to keep her balance. Brittany lets the thong slide off her fingertips and onto the floor. She puts one hand behind Santana so the Latina can crash their lips together again. After only a few moments of kissing, Brittany slides her finger down to Santana's folds for the second time, this time with much more freedom to her wrist and slowly enters her first with one, then with two fingers. Santana is on her knees and has her legs open wide so Brittany can plunge deeper.

"Uhh, yes," Santana moans and begins riding Brittany's long slender fingers.

She licks Brittany's bottom lip and then her tongue while grabbing a palmful of the blonde's left boob. Santana knows when Brittany's hand accidentally hits her own clit when she shudders under her. She's hoping Brittany will let her finish her off later on, but right now, she's too busy chasing her own orgasm and it's coming fast. Her ass is in the air and Brittany is fucking her from underneath. All they hear is heavy panting and the sounds of her wetness hitting Brittany's hand. When Santana doesn't have her eyes closed, she's looking at the beautiful face looking back at her. When Brittany adds her thumb to the mix and pushes up against her clit she almost can't take it anymore. She sits up so she can get Brittany nice and deep into her. She puts her left arm on the back of the couch for balance and she bounces up and down, up and down on Brittany's fingers. Brittany enjoying the view of her naked girlfriend riding her and her boobs doing this gorgeous dance for her. Santana's head is thrown back and her stomach is getting tighter with each of Brittany's thrusts.

"Come baby, let go. You're so fucking beautiful," Brittany says with a rasp in her voice.

Santana can't say much but she lets out a few squeals and whimpers to let her know she heard her. She slams herself hard onto Brittany's fingers. She grips tightly to the couch and finally lets her orgasm take over with scream of release. She slows herself and Brittany brings her down with slow gentle thrusts until she can no longer feel Santana tight core throbbing around her fingers – which are now coated with smooth, slippery liquid. Slowly, Santana slides herself up with all the energy she has left and Brittany removes her fingers. Santana leans down onto Brittany's chest to catch her breath. Brittany gives the top of her head a few kisses and Santana returns those kisses to Brittany's collarbone. Brittany brings her fingers that were just inside Santana to her lips and sucks them off quietly.

"Really, Britt?" Santana mumbles knowingly.

"Mmhm," Brittany hums with her fingers still in her mouth.

"K, you're fucking sexy, you know that?" Santana asks as she gives the collarbone a few more kisses.

"Mmhm," Brittany hums again.

Santana kisses down Brittany's body. Spending a bit of time on her chest, and a bit of time appreciating the taunt abs before finding herself face to face with Brittany's wet, wet underwear. She slides them down and off and pushes Brittany's legs open. She slides one arm under Brittany's butt and the other hand opens her folds. She takes a long stroking lick and Brittany's hip rises and she moans loudly.

She takes Brittany's clit into her warm wet mouth and sucks on it gently earning her yet another loud moan. She can't ignore the wetness so she dips into Brittany's center only to bring her tongue up again to her clit. Brittany's clit is extra sensitive right now so that's where Santana decides to focus. Brittany's hands have made it to Santana's head and is scratching and pushing on it which only encourages Santana more. She looks up and the blue eyes are slightly closed but still watching her. It's so fucking hot. She draws slow then quick circles around her clit before placing her mouth around it again and sucking, while making eye contact. She refocuses on her work and takes long strokes up from her center and reattaching it to her clit once again. Once Brittany is panting hard and is fisting Santana's hair, the Latina takes a quick glance up and see's Brittany's head is now thrown back, her chest is flushed pink. Her hips are moving up and down and her legs are beginning to tremble. Santana knows she's so very close.

"I'mcome…I'mcomin…I'm… uhhhh…"

Brittany's hips lift up as she comes hard with Santana giving her clit quick rubs and sucks. She slows down and only gives tentative soft strokes with her tongue to bring the blonde down. Brittany's hips are still raised as her stomach tightens and releases with aftershocks of her orgasm. Her legs are shaking and Santana tries to calm them down by rubbing her thighs gently. Finally after a lot longer than she expected, Brittany's body finally calms down and Santana gives a few more kisses to her thighs and slides up. Brittany is done. She's exhausted now.

"That was so sexy," Santana whispers and kisses Brittany's chin.

"Mmm, fu-ck," Brittany forces out some words causing Santana to chuckle and wrap herself tightly again around her girlfriend.

After a few moments rest, the girls (mostly Santana) gathers up their clothing and they make way to the bedroom. Brittany is under the covers before Santana can throw their clothes into the hamper. Santana finally gets into bed and notices that Brittany's breathing has steadied and she's fast asleep. She smiles to herself and kisses Brittany on the cheek before reaching for her phone. She scrolls though Facebook and hesitantly taps on a few buttons. She looks over at the beautiful blonde sleeping peacefully and then decides to tap on the button she's been hovering over for the longest time and starts to type.

 ** _Hi Kyle, my name is Santana Lopez…_**

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Please be kind.


	36. This is not an update

Unfortunately, this is not an update.

This is just a reminder. Some of you have forgotten who Kyle is. Yes he was mentioned a while ago but only in one chapter. Check out chapter 28 to get a refresher on this character.

Now, I know you will all be super pissed off because I had gotten your hopes up on a new chapter... I'm sorry. I just didn't want to leave you guys confused. It was supposed to be an intense _omg she contacted Kyle_ moment. I guess I dragged it on a little long and some of you had forgotten. I apologize. I still haven't been able to write much. I only really came on because I've gotten a lot of messages about Kyle.

I will try to update as soon as I can... I am way way way behind.

XOXO Brittana lives on XOXO thank you for your support.

Zie


	37. Chapter 36

AN: I know I haven't been updating and I apologize again. Life has me so busy that I hardly have time on my computer to check my Tumblr let alone write this story. Although, I can honestly say that I think of what I can add to this story while I'm at work. I hope you all familiarized yourself with Kyle from Chapter 28. Now on with the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

A few days pass and Santana is busy working on her rebuttal letter; she wanted to finish writing it today. Messaging Kyle over Facebook was probably the best thing she chose to do. Although Kyle and his father have reconnected (minimally), he still has some resentment towards him. He lives in the same apartment building (but not the same unit) as his mother and only sees his father on Father's day and on his Dad's birthday. His mom and dad have not spoken since their divorce.

Santana has explained Brittany's situation to him and Kyle agreed to meet with her after work one day to talk about how he could help. On that day Kyle confirmed everything Santana had read on his blog. He was a horrible man. A homophobic, entitled, selfish man. Kenneth has hurt many people and has used even more in order to get what he wanted. However, Kenneth was great at kissing ass to people he needed and that were above him on the status ladder and that's where he got his power from. Kyle had told Santana that not only did his dad emotionally and verbally abuse him and his mother, he once also physically abused her. Kyle was too young to protect her even though he wanted to but was only pushed away by the bigger man before his mother was struck twice with his fists. His mother was too embarrassed to say anything or tell anyone because Kenneth was such a powerful and 'trusted' man, she didn't think anyone would believe her. Instead she left and never turned back. Santana received Kyle's permission to use some of that information to bring Kenneth down if she promised not write anything about his mother. "She has been through enough," he said and Santana understood and immediately agreed to keep that information confidential. He wished her good luck and hoped Brittany could get her jobs back. He was rooting for them.

Santana wrote out two letters as Brittany continued to keep in contact with Sue, Quinn, Mike, and Vic for updates on jobs and the situation with Kenneth. Kenneth had refused to talk to Sue as soon as he found out she was still in contact with Brittany and would only slam the door in her face when she tried to convince him she wasn't in order to get more information out of him, but with no luck. She had given up on trying to reason with the man and decided to let Santana do her thing and ensure justice to Brittany however she wanted. Sue would be there to support her and give out a good word when she needed to. Sue was also well respected in the industry but mostly as a business owner and a fitness coach, not so much in the martial arts aspect of it all. Brittany usually ran that section of her studio for her. According to Quinn, Finn had quit LWSTC after Rachel gave him hell. Finn called Brittany to apologize over and over again. Brittany forgave him quickly stating that Kenneth was very sneaky and Finn would have had no idea what his intentions were. Brittany had asked him if he was still interested in training, but he refused saying that he was afraid of Kenneth and what he would do if he found out Brittany was still training him. He felt like it would just give Kenneth more ammo to launch towards the blonde about stealing his employees. Even though she understood, she was a little bit hurt at this statement. She felt like a virus that everyone was scared to approach or get near. The topic of Santana came up when Brittany told him Santana was helping her write a letter, Finn made it clear that he was afraid and to not use his name in the letter. She could use his story and misunderstanding at hand, but not to use his name. When Brittany asked him if he wanted to speak to Santana and maybe apologize to her too since she was also lacking in the jobs department because of Kenneth, Finn went silent (which she assumes was him shaking his head) and then told her in all honestly that he was scared and for her to tell her for him. She chuckled but didn't want to put the poor man through any more grief and agreed to talk to Santana for him.

Santana slams her hands on either side of her laptop and sits straight up. Brittany, who was sitting in bed texting Vic on her phone jumps up in shock and grabs her chest.

"What the fuck, San?" Brittany says and rubs her temple with her right hand trying to stop her heart pounding in her head.

"I'm done! Holy shit that took me a long time, but I'm done!" Santana raises her arms up to stretch and then falls back into her chair as she exhales.

Brittany puts her phone down and walks over to her sitting girlfriend and wraps her arms over her shoulders. She kisses Santana on the cheek, "Thank you sooooooooo much," she drags the word. "I would never have been able to get through any of this without you. You're my fucking hero." Another kiss to the cheek.

Santana looks up to make eye contact and smiles, "You were my hero first. Literally. I'm only writing a letter stating nothing but truths."

"Yeah, but this is much harder work," Brittany says while cuddling Santana from behind.

"I beg to differ, Britt. I think I'm much better at this than kicking someone's ass the way you did and save a life."

Brittany nuzzles her face into the crook of Santana's neck, "You're saving my life too, you know? In a different way."

Santana smiles at Brittany's sweetness and taps her on the shoulder so Brittany would look up at her. Santana slightly rolls her chair back and pats on her leg so Brittany would sit on her lap.

"I'm gonna squash you, babe." Brittany laughs as she walks to the front of the chair.

"I'm stronger than you think," Santana says as she flexes her arms.

"You're so silly," Brittany says but takes a seat on the tanned lap anyway. "If I'm crushing you, just let me know."

Santana nods, "Here, read this. This is the letter to everyone. This is your rebuttal for everyone to read. Let me know what you think."

Brittany reads through Santana's letter and is impressed by how Santana states all the facts and backs it up with evidence. Acting as a lawyer on T.V. really helped with piecing this together properly even with her minimal experience in the field. Santana has always been good with words and her words always seemed to flow smoothly. She counters every single one of the Kenneth's arguments and gives Brittany's side of the story. She even had times and a location if she needed to push those details to make it more convincing.

"Wow," Brittany nods; not taking her eyes off the computer screen. "That's so well written. I'm very, very impressed, Santana."

Santana just shrugs, "So it sounds okay?"

"It amazing, babe," Brittany kisses Santana on the cheek once again. Brittany glances down at the desk and sees a copy of Kenneth's letter printed out and tucked under the keyboard. The page is full of different coloured highlights, underlining, circles, and notes made in the margins. "Holy crap!" Brittany says as she grabs the piece of paper. "You put so much work into this," Brittany pouts then looks at Santana and she can see a little bit of a blush form behind the Latina's ear. "Thank you so much," she whispers.

Santana turns her head and puckers her lips. Brittany joins their mouths together for a lingering kiss. "You're welcome. I just hope this can convince most of these people to look at both sides of the story before judging and declining job applications," she huffs.

"I'm sure it will. I never would have been able to put into words everything you did, and I lived through it. Can I show you how grateful I am for all of your help?" Brittany whispers the last sentence into Santana's ear, sending shivers up her spine.

"Absolutely," Santana kisses Brittany's shoulder. "You can start by…" she pauses and Brittany leans into the smaller girl sitting behind her. "Reading this other letter. The one I'm sending to Mr. Trashcan." She clicks and the screen transfers into another document.

Brittany breaths in obviously not expecting the turn of events; she was expecting some sort of sexy time since smart girls are totally hot. She focuses her eyes back onto the screen and reads while Santana hugs onto her tightly and reading with her over her shoulder.

"San?"

"Hm?"

"When did you talk to Kyle?"

"A few days ago. He let me use some of the information we found on his blog and he told me in detail more things that had happened with his dad in the past as well as things specifically that can help us. I only had to promise him that I wouldn't use his name or tell Shitface where I got the information from." Brittany nods. Santana bites her lip, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was so in the zone and it completely slipped my mind. I was too focused on the letter. I'm sorry," she repeats.

"Oh, no no. Don't apologize, Hun. I'm not mad. I'm actually kind of glad you talked to him. This really makes the letter that much better. Like, it makes Kenneth…" Santana scrunches her face, "Sorry. It makes Fartface look that much more asshole-y. I like it." Brittany gives Santana a quick peck on the lips before turning her attention back to the monitor and finishing the letter. After she finishes she asks, "How come you're not sending everyone this letter instead?"

Santana sighs, "Even though I would love to expose Assclown for the piece of shit that he is, I wanted to keep his family stuff confidential for the sake of Kyle and his mother. But! I'm going to pretend that I sent this one out to everyone so when Fuckerknob opens the e-mail it would freak the shit out of him when he thinks that I sent this out to the world, when really, they all get the tamer version. Just to, you know, play him a bit without putting Kyle out there to the public."

Brittany nods in understanding. "This letter is more baddass… more Santana-esque. But I respect Kyle's wishes on keeping this information on the down-low until necessary. At least Ken – uh – Goober-globin knows we have all this at our disposal."

"Goober-globin?" Santana laughs.

"Shut up," Brittany slaps the side of Santana's thigh. "I can't keep thinking of so many nicknames. I think I've run out."

"Impossible," she waves her hand; gesturing the thought away, "Besides, feel free to reuse anyone one of the names we've used before. Some of them are great!" Santana smiles.

"You're great," Brittany smiles back.

"So..." Santana takes in a deep breath and exhales. "Are you ready to send it?"

Brittany stays quiet for a moment, really thinking it through. "Yes. Yes, I am." She breathes out a long nervous breath. "It's my word against his now."

"You have a lot of support, baby, but these people need to hear your side of the story in order to know that it exists," Santana explains.

"You're right, you're right. Ok, let's do this." Brittany stands up slightly allowing Santana's blood to flow back though her legs.

But Santana pretends she doesn't feel her legs go tingly. "What are you doing?" She asks.

"Babe, I know how much heavier I am than you. And even when you sit on my lap for this amount of time my leg gets a bit tired; don't tell me I didn't cut the circulation to your legs."

"What legs?" Santana looks down at the back pocket marks Brittany left on her thighs.

Brittany rubs the tan legs up and down and gives a little chuckle. She slaps Santana's leg over to the side so they can share the seat but instead Santana sits as far back as possible and spreads her legs asking Brittany to sit between her legs while she continues to look over the taller girl's shoulder.

Brittany looks down and pauses to enjoy the view of her girlfriend's legs spread open and considers taking advantage of this position. When Santana breaks her out of her trance.

"Stop having dirty thoughts, we have important work to do," She pants the seat between her legs. Brittany swallows and sits down facing the computer.

Brittany goes into her mailbox and opens the e-mail Sue had sent her of all the people Kenneth had sent his letters to and their e-mail addresses. She copies and pastes them into her own email, BCC'ing everyone (unlike Kenneth) and finally highlights the entire letter Santana wrote for her and copied and pasted it into the body of the e-mail. On the subject line she wrote: **Kenneth L's Story: Brittany's Side.**

The mouse curser hovers over the send button and Santana can feel Brittany's nervousness radiate through her skin. She looks down at the hand holding the mouse and she sees that her fingers are shaking. Santana rubs Brittany's arms up and down, and kisses her on the shoulder.

"You can do this, Baby."

Brittany swallows, "Do it for me." She lets go of the mouse.

But Santana grabs her hand back with her own and places it back on the mouse, "No, Britt. This is all you. This is your moment." She rubs her thumb on the back of Brittany's hand.

With one deep breath, Brittany closes her eyes and Santana is so focused on Brittany's expression that she only gets jolted out of it when she hears the _click._ She looks to the monitor. _Your message has been sent._

Brittany releases a shaky breath, "Wow." She says as she releases the mouse.

"We're not quite done yet babe," Santana says as she clicks around and attaches Kenneth's letter to the body of the e-mail. "You have one more e-mail to send."

"Okay." Brittany grabs the mouse and quickly clicks on the send button without even thinking about it. "Done!"

"That was quick," Santana chuckles a little and hugs Brittany from behind.

"Well, sending the e-mail to him and confirming the fact that we are cutting all ties with him _and_ giving him a reason to not mess with us anymore was a lot easier than sending an e-mail to everyone I know – people I don't even know – that may judge me or already have."

"It's good to get your story out. These people need to know both sides of the story."

"They do and I have you to thank." Brittany turns around and places a kiss to Santana's lips, then cheek, then lips again. "Thank you so, so much. Seriously, San, you have been my rock for the last few months... I don't know what I'd do without you."

"And I don't want to find out," Santana pulls Brittany in for another kiss.

Brittany mumbles into Santana's still attached lips, "Me either."

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Brittany has received phone calls and e-mails from people she knew in the industry as well as people she didn't know. Most of them have been positive with people telling her that she opened their eyes to a whole new side and apologized for judging her before hearing both sides of the story, or that they never believed Kenneth in the first place. Those who knew Brittany had told her that they knew she wasn't like that and they knew Kenneth well enough to disregard his letter. However, there were two negative e-mails (no negative phone calls – they were probably too scared. It's always easier for people to hide behind a computer than to speak to the person directly through the phone). One was from one of the men who had worked with Kenneth before stating that she was being disrespectful to such a well-known master and that a child like her should know her place. To which, Santana freaked out and started typing out a really nasty reply but Brittany had told her she didn't even know the dude and he wasn't worth the time. The other was from Kenneth himself. He had stated in his e-mail that writing about his personal life was unprofessional and that there was no truth in her e-mail and that no one would ever believe her. To which Brittany typed out a quick reply but then deleted it deciding that Kenneth wasn't worth a response either.

Brittany ended up with a few auditions to be a body double again including the job Vic was trying to get her. Brittany ended up using her newly re-polished reputation to snag Santana an audition for the same show. Santana's audition was held in L.A. but Brittany only had to send in a demo reel and didn't actually have to go to California until she actually got the job and had to learn the choreography and meet the lady she is doubling for.

"Britt?" Santana said nervously on the couch one day as Brittany went into the kitchen to get more salsa for their chips.

"Yeah?"

"About that audition..." She trails off.

"What's wrong? You don't want to go?" Brittany returns with a full bowl of salsa in her hands.

"I do!" Santana sits up and scoots over to make room for Brittany. Brittany scoops some salsa onto a corn chip and holds it up to Santana. Santana takes a bite then licks her lips before continuing. "I do, I just. I don't know." She bites her lip and looks away.

Brittany scrunches her eyes and puts the bowl down. She knows exactly what's going on.

"Santana," Brittany says and Santana looks up into the sparking blue eyes. Brittany takes her hands in her own and sits closer to the Latina. "I fucked up before when I didn't go to New York with you and now you're afraid I'm not going to go with you to L.A. and you're nervous to ask me because of what happened before. Am I correct?"

Santana bites her cheek and shrugs.

Brittany takes in a deep breath and continues speaking, "I am so sorry that I ever made you feel that way. I don't know what was going through my head at that time. I was stupid and sad and I made a bad choice."

"You're not stupid." Santana interrupts shooting a look into the other girl's eyes.

"At that moment I was," Brittany continues and she keeps talking to avoid Santana's protest. "I wasn't being a good girlfriend and I hate that you now feel like I don't support you one-hundred percent because I do."

Brittany lets go of Santana's hands and leans over the couch to grab her purse. She pulls out an envelope and hands it to Santana. Santana hesitantly opens it.

"Britt..." Santana covers her mouth with one hand.

"I bought us tickets to L.A., both of us. We are going to take a two week vacation away from all of this craziness and a couple of those days you will be auditioning because I know for a fact you are going to get a call-back. We will be staying in two hotels. The first week and a half we will be staying at the hotel I booked while booking our flight. That hotel is 4 stars. The last four days, I booked us the executive suite at the Ritz Carlton because – well because you deserve to be pampered, that's why I also booked you a spa day at the hotel because you fucking deserve it," Brittany says with a shrug. "I also thought maybe we could go to Disneyland too."

Santana's eyes could not get any bigger. Her eyes were beginning to rim with tears, no one has ever given her anything close to this. "Britt... The Ritz?"

"The Ritz," Brittany says with a calm smile and a nod. "I wanted to stay there for the whole two weeks but... I mean, we could... I just..."

Santana sits up quickly and jumps on top of Brittany attacking her lips with kisses and only stops to speak. "I know how expensive that hotel is. It's over a thousand dollars a night! Brittany!"

Brittany just giggles into Santana's lips. "Happy Anniversary!"

Santana stops her kisses and looks at Brittany curiously, "What? But our anniversary isn't for another couple months."

"While true," Brittany states, "it was exactly one year ago today the beautiful Latina I met briefly one time in an alley way and I walked her home, came to my class and I immediately wanted to know her better."

"Then shouldn't you count the day in the alley way since it was the first day we met?"

Brittany ran her thumb over Santana's cheek and tucked her hair behind her ear, "I could, but I don't want to. Babe, that was such a horrible experience for you and it shouldn't be celebrated."

"You have a point," Santana said as she curled up into Brittany; tucking her head under Brittany's chin.

"I love you, Santana."

"I love you too, Britt."

* * *

Once the girls get to Los Angeles and get settled into their hotel, Santana immediately feels nervous. Brittany does her best to boost Santana's confidence with hugs, kisses, and encouraging words. Brittany had sent her demo reel to the production company 5 days before they had left and was waiting to hear back from them. On the day of Santana's audition, Brittany waited outside the studio for 2 hours while Santana went inside to collect her script and read it through before it was her turn to walk into the small room with 2 people inside waiting to judge her. When she walked out Brittany's cheeks were flushed pink and she was scrolling through her phone.

"How did it go?" Brittany asked as she wiped her forehead.

"I think it went well. I should hear from them by the end of the day if they want to see me again." Santana takes off her thin jacket, "Holy shit it's hot out. Britt, you're turning red from the heat. Why didn't you go into a coffee shop or somewhere with air conditioning?" She places a hand on Brittany's cheek.

Brittany turns to kiss her hand, "because I didn't want to miss you walking out of these doors." Brittany grabs her hand and they begin to make their way back to the hotel.

Once they arrive at the hotel and they kick off their shoes to Santana's phone rings.

"Hello? This is Santana Lopez. Yes. Yes. Absolutely. That's great! See you tomorrow!" She hangs up the phone and turns to Brittany with a beaming smile.

"Got a call back?" Brittany asks confidently.

"Yes!" Santana bounces on the ball of her feet. "If I get this job we can work together again! How much fun would that be?"

"It would be amazing! But I haven't heard back from them yet, so I don't know if I have a job yet either."

"Oh, I am sure you are going to get it. You are the most badass stunt woman out here. They would be crazy not to hire you."

"I hope so," Brittany says, unconvinced.

The next day, Santana goes to her call back. Sure, the part she is auditioning for is a villain for only 2 episodes but that just makes her character way more badass. During her audition, she is asked if she knows any form of fighting or marital arts. Santana mentions that she has taken some kickboxing class and she knows 'someone' that can really guide her in the right direction if that is what her character needed. She didn't want to drop Brittany's name just yet. After the audition, Brittany is again waiting outside for her in the sweltering heat. Santana gives her a kiss and they go get some slushies to cool off.

That evening Santana receives another phone call. In the middle of her conversation, Brittany receives a phone call as well. She points to the front door to let Santana know she is going to take the call into the hallway to avoid interrupting and distracting Santana from her very important call. Santana nods and continues listening and writing down information about the shoot. When Brittany comes back she plops herself on the desk chair and swivels it around so she's looking at Santana. Santana is just confirming her address and she tells them that even though she lives in Ohio she is willing to come to California to shoot the show if she needs to. They will accommodate her with a trailer of her own if one is available but if not, she may have to share. Santana gives a small frown but shrugs it off and tells them it's okay since she's only there for a maximum of a month if she were to get the part. Hoping her roommate isn't some creepy annoying nosy bitch. When she hangs up the phone the girls look at each other.

"Who was that?" Santana asks as she plugs her phone into the wall to charge it.

"Darla."

"Who's Darla?" Santana questions with a scrunched brow and a frown on her face.

"Oh, just this girl I met though someone I know. She wants to meet up with me. I told her I was in L.A. and she said it was perfect because she is too. I'm meeting her tomorrow."

"You what?" Santana raises her voice and stands up. Marching herself towards her girlfriend calmly sitting on the desk chair with a smile on her face. "Why are you smiling? Who is the Darla bitch? I'mma cut her."

"Oh, I don't think that's a good idea babe," Brittany says as she tries to unfold Santana's arm from her chest. "Darla is the girl I'm doubling for. I got the job!" She says with a giant smile.

"Oh Britt-Britt! That's awesome!" Santana says with a giant smile of her own. But then her smile goes serious once again, "Why is she calling you and why does she want to meet you?"

Brittany chuckles and rubs her hands up and down Santana's waist. "The production company actually called me first telling me that they loved my demo reel and that I got the job, that's when I went outside. Right away they told me that Darla wanted to meet me because she always wants to get to her know doubles beforehand so she can get to know me and see if we click before we have to work together. They gave me Darla's number so I could call her, so when I heard that you were still talking on the phone, I called her from outside. I told her who else I had doubled for and that my _girlfriend_ was on the phone as we speak with the recruiting team for the same show. She actually wants to meet the both of us because when I told her the part you were auditioning for, she figured she would have to meet you eventually as well so it would be nice to meet both of us at the same time. The three of us are going to meet her for a coffee at 4pm... If that's okay with you." Brittany bites her bottom lip and raises her eyebrows.

Santana nods her head and leans down so their foreheads are touching, "I guess I don't need to cut her then."

Brittany lightly shakes her head and puckers for a kiss. When Santana complies, Brittany responds, "Nope, you don't." She pulls Santana down so she is sitting straddled on her lap. Holding her tightly as they kiss. They kiss for a while. With tongue. With Brittany rubbing Santana's back. Under her shirt.

"Do you think you could share my trailer with me?" Santana mumbles between kisses.

"Mmm, I sure hope so."

* * *

The girls go out to celebrate that evening. They talk about moving to L.A. together if this is where most of their work is going to be. Through thoughtful consideration, they decide to stay in Ohio for now since it is the most comfortable place for Lord Tubbington at the moment and Brittany's sister, Christy, is able to watch the cat while the girls are out of town filming.

"Do you still want to teach?" Santana asks while they finish up their dinner at an upscale restaurant by the hotel.

Brittany ponders the thought for a bit then shrugs, "I don't know. I mean, I loved it, but I don't know if I can get back into it. Too much drama. Besides, I'm not even sure who would even want me anymore."

"Brittany," Santana says and the blonde looks up from her decedent chocolate dessert. "Trust me, a lot of people would feel privileged to have you work for them. I think everyone was just scared that Dipshit would do what he did to Eric. Hey! Why don't you open your own studio?"

"That's a lot of work, Santana. So much time and money go into opening a studio. Plus, I need to focus on getting back in shape for _this_ job first."

"But that's not a _no_ right?" Santana raises an eyebrow.

Brittany only shrugs and shakes her head, "I don't know, San. We'll see, okay?"

Santana nods, trying not to push her, "Okay." She keeps an eye on Brittany polishing off the final sips of her wine and contemplating on something before finishing her own. Brittany pays for their meal after snatching the bill from Santana's hands.

When they get back to the hotel that evening, they quietly strip out of their dresses before making sweet, sweet lady love until the early morning.

They spend the rest of their trip enjoying the leisure and relaxation of the Ritz Carlton. Santana goes to her spa appointment and gets pampered the way Brittany thinks she deserves to be. The days that seemed to fly by. The meeting with Darla was quick, but enjoyable. Both girls thought Darla was wonderful and were excited to work with her and she had said the same to both Santana and Brittany too. Each day went by quicker before they had to depart back home to Lima. This trip had given the girls much needed alone time to reconnect on an even deeper level. Falling more and more in love with each other every day. Santana joked one time about it being the perfect honeymoon; staying in their executive suite with nothing but fluffy pillows and robes, a great view (inside and outside the room), and champagne and chocolates delivered to their room every evening. One evening, as Santana was lying on Brittany's chest and Brittany was stroking her arm, she caught herself rambling on and on about the honeymoon when Brittany suddenly fell quiet. Brittany suddenly stopped her movements and got really silent. Santana quickly changed the subject but all Brittany did was kiss her on top of her head and continued stroking her arm without a word. Santana hoped to everything good that she did not just scare the crap out of Brittany.

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Please be kind. Thank you for your patience. XOXO


	38. The letters

AN: As requested. These are the letters Santana wrote for Brittany to send to both the public and to Kenneth. I didn't want to put this into the story because I know it wouldn't be up to your standards. :( Some parts are the same for obvious reasons. I apologize if this isn't exactly how you pictured it. I (personally) am not a mean/badass person and I don't know how to write like one (Santana) and make sure Brittany is safe from any untruthful facts that Kenneth can use to bite her back in the ass. This is just a little something for you guys to keep you occupied as well as I try to figure out how to pull this story together to a good end. (won't be for another 6-7 chapters though... maybe more. I haven't decided yet ~ maybe it depends on the reviews? I feel like I'm dragging, am I dragging?) Anyways, here goes nothing.

* * *

 **Letter to the public**

Dear Anyone who really wants to read what I have to say,

My name is Brittany S. Pierce and some of you may know me as one of the instructors at The Shark Tank owned by Sue Sylvester, some of you may know me as a stunt performer, and some of you might not know me at all. However, all of you (if you are reading this) would know me from the e-mail or letter you have received a few days ago by another fitness centre owner by the name of Kenneth Lowell, and this my take on what happened.

Kenneth bought The Shark Tank after Miss Sylvester went away to coach some amazing acrobatic act. Things started to change, but very understandably considering the change of ownership. Membership costs were changed, the name of the studio was changed, and eventually staff was changed.

At no time in my career or my life have I ever intentionally betrayed anyone or hurt anyone. If I have, I'm sorry, but after reading the letter Kenneth had send all of you, I must speak up. I understand it's my words against his, but I would appreciate if you just finish my little story. If you choose to disregard this letter, please feel free to, but I feel the need to let you decide on your own.

First, I would like to correct Mr. Lowell. I am not a lesbian. I am, in fact, bisexual. My girlfriend, Santana Lopez, whom I love very much can be feisty but it is only because she is protective of me and loves me very much. If you spoke to anyone who has worked with either of us, I can assure you, majority of the people out there will tell you we are a harmless pair. She once went into Mr. Lowell's office to tell him to stop one of his members to stop harassing me at my other job and barging into the middle of my classes there, but Kenneth only brushed her off and decided to fire a close friend of ours because of this.

Speaking of other jobs, I ended up getting an instructor's position at Sidekicks owned by Eric Hall when Mr. Lowell cut my pay and was unable to give me hours due to his numerous full time staff, which we later found out was false because many full time workers who have been there since The Shark Tank had been fired. I had informed Mr. Lowell of this and asked for permission to work at Sidekicks. If he had any ill feelings towards me working there, he did not show it. I followed all his rules about wearing his studio's colours and only to advertise for his location. He specifically told me, and I quote, "… go ahead then. You have all my support."

I broke my hand one time and had to take some time off of both jobs. I didn't work at day at Sidekicks nor did I get paid for it, however, Mr. Lowell decided that I still needed to come teach. My love for this studio and for the members were so strong that I agreed, but only finding out later that I was to only receive half the pay.

The Lima Liner contacted me to interview me personally and I happily agreed to let Kenneth join me since he was officially my boss at the time. At no instance had he ever given me free use of the equipment or given my girlfriend free classes. Any promotional videos or commercials he made were specifically for his property, please feel free to watch these commercials and even contact The Lima Liner and you will see that I am not lying.

I have never promoted Sidekicks while inside Mr. Lowell's studio. However, one of Mr. Lowell's clerks (also a good friend of mine) had approached me and asked me for lessons to help him shave off a couple of pounds. Since, Mr. Lowell had refused to let us use his facility for private matters, I knew that Mr. Hall would be more than happy to use his for some one on one training when there were no classes running. I had told my friend numerous times to get approval from Mr. Lowell and he had assured me that he had. If this is what you call "taking employees," then I believe we are on different pages.

Yes, Mr. Lowell's clients had been falling drastically ever since he charged much more for membership. Some of them came to find me at Sidekicks as I was teaching more classes there because they had told me that they no longer enjoyed the instruction over at Mr. Lowell's studio. More proof that I did not physically take or mentally brainwash these clients (I wish I had that type of power) would be in his online reviews. The Tank (at the time) was rated 4.5 stars. 1 month after Miss Sylvester sold the location it began to plummet and went down to 2 stars in less than 2 months.

Yes, Mr. Lowell gave me a raise but that only if I agreed to quit Sidekicks. I had grown attached and comfortable to this new fitness centre and I couldn't get myself to go back again. However, a few days later Mr. Lowell had fired me, I was no longer able to work at Sidekicks either because of a little chat Mr. Lowell had with Mr. Hall one day. Later, I find out that Mr. Lowell is the building owner that Sidekicks is located in. Putting two and two together is not difficult in this sense.

I refused to say anything to put Mr. Lowell down from his position, so I will not state what kind of man I believe he is or is capable of. I only wanted to tell you all my side of the story.

Thank you all so much for reading this and considering my words.

Please feel free to contact me via e-mail or telephone at 555-2748 if you have any further questions about this letter or if you would like anything clarified.

Yours Truly,

Brittany S. Pierce

* * *

 **Letter to Trashbag**

Dear Anyone who really wants to read what I have to say,

My name is Brittany S. Pierce and some of you may know me as one of the instructors at The Shark Tank owned by Sue Sylvester, some of you may know me as a stunt performer, and some of you might not know me at all. However, all of you (if you are reading this) would know me from the e-mail or letter you have received a few days ago by another fitness centre owner by the name of Kenneth Lowell, and this is what I know about Mr. Lowell.

Not only is he such a liar when it comes to talking about people behind their backs but he is also a liar when it comes to fairness, freedom, and open mindedness. He is homophobic and after dire research on him, I have found out the most interesting things about him that many of you might not know.

First, I would like to correct Mr. Lowell. I am not a lesbian. I am, in fact, bisexual. My girlfriend, Santana Lopez, whom I love very much can be feisty but it is only because she is protective of me and loves me very much. If you spoke to anyone who has worked with either of us, I can assure you, majority of the people out there will tell you we are a harmless pair. She once went into Mr. Lowell's office to tell him to stop one of his members to stop harassing me at my other job and barging into the middle of my classes there, but Kenneth was rude and fired our friend Quinn because of hatred for us. It was unfair and unjust. Funny that I should say that he always disliked us because of our sexuality because from our extensive research, Kenneth has a son whom we believe is an out and proud gay man. We also found out that he practically disowned his son after trying to force him into a sport he despised and blamed others for the fact that his son was gay. Not speaking to his son for years until he became a top of his class University theater director and even won awards for it. This is when he finally decided that, "yes, my son has made some unbelievable achievements and I created him." We are only scraping the surface on that one, not mentioning anything about abuse or aggression towards his family or why he and his wife had a divorce. This is a story set for another time.

Getting back to my relationship – or lack of – with Kenneth. Yes, Mr. Lowell's clients had been falling drastically ever since he charged much more for membership. He lied to them telling them that the extra money was going to renovations and new equipment when in fact nothing had changed except for his own logo, studio name, and apparel for coaches. Not to mention a mini fridge for himself. Some of these clients came to find me at Sidekicks as I was teaching more classes there because they had told me that they no longer enjoyed the instruction over at Mr. Lowell's studio. More proof that I did not physically take or mentally brainwash these clients (I wish I had that type of power) would be in his online reviews. The Tank (at the time) was rated 4.5 stars. 1 month after Miss Sylvester sold the location it began to plummet and went down to 2 stars in less than 2 months. His studio was crumbling and he needed someone to blame. Unfortunately for me, it was me.

I ended up getting an instructor's position at Sidekicks owned by Eric Hall when Mr. Lowell cut my pay and was unable to give me hours due to his full time staff, which we later found out was false because a full time worker who has been there since The Shark Tank had been fired. I had informed Mr. Lowell of this and asked for permission to work at Sidekicks. If he had any ill feelings towards me working there, he did not show it. I followed all his rules about wearing his studio's colours and only to advertise for his location. He specifically told me, and I quote, "… go ahead then. You have all my support."

I broke my hand one time and had to take some time off of both jobs. I didn't work at day at Sidekicks nor did I get paid for it even though he claims that I did, however, Mr. Lowell decided that I still needed to come teach for _his_ class. My love for this studio and for the members were so strong that I agreed, but only finding out later that I was to only receive half the pay.

The Lima Liner contacted me to interview me personally and I happily agreed to let Kenneth join me since he was officially my boss at the time. He ended up threatening the young interviewer so his interview was the main showcase of the article. Yes, I was told that specifically by The Lima Liner that he threatened them. At no instance had he ever given me free use of the equipment or given my girlfriend free classes. Any promotional videos or commercials he made were specifically for his property, please feel free to watch these commercials and even contact The Lima Liner and you will see that I am not lying. None of us were notified of the filming and only pretty young girls were allowed to attend the classes. We will need to check on those ages. Sure, the consent for states that it was only for women ages 18-35, but did they actually check their ID? I feel as though some of them were as young as 15 and even though those papers were signed by the teen, there was no actual parental consent. (I wonder if there's jail time for that).

I have never promoted Sidekicks while inside Mr. Lowell's studio. However, one of Mr. Lowell's clerks (also a good friend of mine) had approached me and asked me for lessons to help him shave off a couple of pounds. Since, Mr. Lowell had refused to let us use his facility for private matters, I knew that Mr. Hall would be more than happy to use his for some one on one training when there were no classes running. I had told my friend numerous times to get approval from Mr. Lowell and he had assured me that he had. If this is what you call "taking employees," then I believe we are on different pages.

Thank you all so much for reading this and considering my words.

Please feel free to contact me via e-mail or telephone at 555-2748 if you have any further questions about this letter or if you would like more information on his family life, his abusive behaviour, or his relationship with his son – I've got the inside scoop!

Yours Truly,

Brittany S. Pierce

* * *

AN#2: Please don't hate. This is not even close to my best writing, but feel free to let me know what you expected? Please note: Santana was not going to threaten Kenneth in anyway that can cause Brittany anymore grief. The letter to Kenneth was only to scare him and to let him know that they had the information.


	39. Filler Chapter 37 - Disney

AN: Thank you for all the amazing positive reviews on the letters. It took longer to write than I thought and I wasn't very happy with them, but if you guys are happy with them, then I am just as satisfied. Just to answer some of your questions. Why does Brittany have enough money to stay at the Ritz? Brittany worked two jobs for most of her adult life and both of them paid relatively well. She doesn't vacation a lot and if she has to travel for work it's usually paid for by the production company. Her house is already paid off because (if you remember, it belonged to her parents) I'm sure her parents gave her a really good price for it. Yes, she didn't go to New York with Santana because she didn't have any income at that time and it worried her but that doesn't mean she didn't have any savings. She just didn't want to have to dip into them when she was so unsure of everything. Plus, she was feeling really low and depressed at that point and felt like she wasn't worth spending her savings on – she wanted the two of them to be comfortable back in Lima for as long as possible if things continued to go down the shitter, but now that things are looking brighter, she feels like both her and Santana deserve a little time off to relax and enjoy themselves. Hope that makes sense. Sorry I didn't make it clear in the story. This chapter is just a little light hearted short fluffy chapter because I love Disney and it made for a quicker update for all you patient readers. Enjoy!

* * *

The girls manage to make time on their last day in California to go to Disneyland. Santana purchased the tickets online and surprised Brittany with the tickets the night before as her early anniversary gift. They decided that gifts like Disney and the Ritz were way better than material things. This is something they can share as a couple and it makes the gift that much more memorable.

"Are you ready to go?" Santana asks from the bed to the girl doing her hair in the washroom.

"I'll be right out," Brittany calls out in between Hakuna Matata lyrics and putting on sunscreen. A few moments later Brittany comes out of the washroom with a light brown Lion King tank top and jean shorts. "How do I look?" She gleams with a giant smile on her face.

"Incredibly cute," Santana says as she stands up from the corner of the bed wearing a black tank top and tight camo cargo shorts. She hooks her finger into the loop of Brittany's shorts and puckers up for a quick kiss and Brittany immediately attends to those lips.

"Are you sure you don't want any sunscreen?" Brittany asks holding the bottle in front of her.

"I won't burn," Santana says nonchalantly and turns to get her purse.

"But like… safety. UV protection. Santana," Brittany whines.

Santana huffs and tries not to look at Brittany's pouty face – tilty head look. However, she chances one look into the mirror and sees Brittany's reflection and gives in. "Fine!" Santana says conceding defeat. "But this is cutting into your Disney time!" She tries to argue and snatches the bottle out of Brittany's hands to start squeezing some on her palm.

Brittany just smiles and watches her wonderfully tan girlfriend rub lotion all over herself. "I don't mind missing a few minutes of Disney to watch you do that," Brittany says with a wink.

"Oh stop ogling and get my back will ya?" Santana says trying to hold back a smile while tossing the sunscreen at the blonde and pulling her hair up into a ponytail.

Brittany chuckles and squeezes some on the palm of her hands to smother on Santana's back. "Okay, done!" Brittany says and Santana turns back around.

"Let's go!" Santana says about to grab her purse but is interrupted when Brittany doesn't move and says in a quiet but stern tone…

"Face."

"Ugh! But it's so sticky and it messes with my make up!"

"Face."

Then a thought runs through Santana's mind and she quickly rummages into her purse to pull out her compact. She looks at the label carefully and beams. She holds her compact out with a straight arm as if she were a superhero, "SPF 30 UV protection, baby!" she says proudly.

"Dork," Brittany laughs and pulls Santana by the wrist in for another kiss. "Fine, no sunscreen on your face, but you do have something on your cheek though," Brittany says with furrowed brows.

"What is it?" Santana touches her face all over and Brittany just goes in for a peck on her cheek.

"Me!" Brittany says cheerfully as she grabs both her backpack and Santana's purse. Quickly she grabs Santana's hand and runs out the door with Santana being dragged behind her almost slamming into the door frame. She has precious time to make up for that little sunscreen delay.

Once they check in and scan their tickets, they finally step foot into the park and Brittany rushes to the giant Mickey garden and waves Santana over to take a photo. They try to take a selfie when a shorter lady with a safari hat and a name tag offers to take the photo for them. They hand her their camera and they pose for the picture with both their arms out and big smiles on their face.

"Would you like me to take one with this camera as well?" The lady asks while lifting her professional DSLR camera. "You'll get a card with a number in which you can view your photo at a booth inside or online."

Santana shrugs and looks over at Brittany who is nodding already with a smile that has yet to leave her face. "Sure," Santana says and they take their spot in front of the giant Mickey garden again.

The lady focuses her camera and counts down, "3… 2… 1…" Brittany quickly turns her head and presses her lips against Santana's bunched up cheek. "Got it!" the lady says with a pleased smile.

Santana looks up at Brittany and Brittany gives her the signature Brittany wink. They take the little card from the lady and say their thanks before making their way through the park hand in hand.

They stop at every food stall and shop. Santana decides to stop and look at some jewelry and Brittany tells her she's going to wander around. Not knowing how much time went by when Santana suddenly realizes Brittany has been gone for a while. She detaches herself from the sparkly jewelry and looks around for her girlfriend.

"Britt!" Santana calls out when she sees Brittany's back. Brittany jumps at her name and turns around quickly sticking her hands behind her back.

"Ready to go?" Brittany asks as Santana walks towards her nodding.

Brittany runs out the shop exit and it causes Santana to amusingly shake her head at her girlfriend's antics.

Once she steps out of the shop not knowing where her girlfriend went, Brittany pops out from the side of the door and quickly throws a headband on Santana's head triggering a squeal from the Latina.

"What is this?!" Santana says almost freaking out. "What did you put on me?" She raises her hand to touch the thing on her head and she immediately recognizes the shape.

"Minnie ears!" Brittany giggles while bouncing on her toes. "They look so good on you! It's so perfect!"

Santana just rolls her eyes. "And what about you? Did you get yourself a pair of Mickey ears?" she asks.

"Nope!" Brittany says and turns around and bends down just slightly so her head is out of view, so instead Santana gets a momentary view of that ass. Not that she's complaining. Brittany straightens up quickly and turns around with a bounce. "I'm Pooh!" Brittany says quickly then just as quickly realizing what she just said her smile falters. Then she frowns. "Winnie… the… Pooh…" Brittany says embarrassed as she pouts and looks at the floor.

Santana can't help but smile because Brittany with Winne the Pooh ears all pouty and embarrassed is the most adorable thing she has ever seen. She walks right up to her and holds her hand. Brittany looks up to her and just seeing the smile on the shorter girl's face brings the corners of her lips back up.

"You look super adorable, Brittany," Santana says, "I love it!" and kisses her on the nose with a little hop.

Brittany quickly drags Santana to the shop window to look at their reflection and sure enough, they both look like the cutest most dorkiest but most perfect couple ever. Santana with her black tank top, dark colour shorts, and raven black hair and Minnie ears go perfectly together and Brittany with her tan colour tank top and golden locks matches impeccably well with her Pooh ears. Never in her life has Santana Lopez ever imagine herself wearing Minnie Mouse ears at Disneyland and feeling happy about it. If someone had told her 2 years ago that she would be doing this, she would laugh at them then slap them for being ridiculous.

They make their way through the park once again but not before they take a selfie with those ears and Brittany turning that photo into her lock screen wallpaper. Santana buys Brittany pink cotton candy as she eats a Mickey shaped ice cream bar. They take a picture in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle and in front of each section of Disneyland. They go on as many rides as possible and even though Brittany was hesitant to go on the Haunted Mansion ride because she remembered being scared when she was younger, Santana convinced her that she would be right there next to her to protect her. Brittany ended up loving it and wanted to go on it again just to see if the same ghost would sit in their carriage with them the second time. After a 20 minute wait in line again, Brittany was satisfied when it was, in fact, a different ghost.

They make their way through as many rides as possible at Disneyland Park. They scream their way through Space Mountain, Matterhorn, and India Jones Adventure. They take a break to eat a burger and a Mickey shaped waffle before going on the Tea Cups and relaxing on It's a Small World; which Santana thought was actually a little bit racist. They cuddled on Pirates of the Caribbean and giggled through The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Brittany beat Santana's score in Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and when Santana demanded a re-match and decided to make things interesting by having the loser buy the winner an ice cream sandwich, Brittany agreed eagerly since it was so damn hot out. Santana ended up buying Brittany that ice cream sandwich; which Brittany happily shared. They took as many pictures with as many characters as possible as long as the lines weren't ridiculously long. They saw Buzz Lightyear walking away and waving goodbye to the kids before Brittany could get to him and she almost started to cry thinking she had missed her chance. Santana had to stop him and explain that it was their last day in L.A. and Brittany really wanted a photo with him. The young man guiding Buzz back to the change room asked them quietly to follow them and later allowed them to take a photo with Buzz when he was out of sight from the rest of the children. Brittany was so happy and thankful that she actually cried, but this time was from being so overwhelmed with joy. Santana assures the worried young worker that she was going to be fine and thanked them again before guiding Brittany back towards the main road of the park.

Making their way to Disney California Adventure Park right across from Disneyland, Santana can't believe how much fun she is having while wearing Minnie ears. They go on almost all the rides and Santana almost loses her voice screaming while riding the California Screamin' roller coaster. Brittany found it ironic and laughed about it and ended up buying Santana an incredibly expensive bottle of water because that's the only type of water they sell there. There was one ride left and Santana refused to walk towards it.

"Please!" Brittany begged. "Come on, I'm not even scared and it's supposed to be scarier than the Hunted Mansion. Please, Santana!"

"Nope. Nope. No. No. Nope," Santana shakes her head as she looks up at the tall, crooked, beat up tower.

"I'll be right there with you, please? It's supposed to be so good! You went on all the other rides and those had drops and spins and they even went upside down!" Brittany tries to justify.

But Santana only shakes her head, "No, Brittany. I'm going to die!"

Brittany chuckles, "You're not going to die, San. It's just one little drop."

"LITTLE?" Santana practically screams. "Brittany, look at that," she points to the top of the tower. "People drop from up there! And it's even in the name, _Terror!_ You can go on, I'll wait out here. _"_

But Brittany didn't want to go one without Santana. Brittany sighs, "I'll buy you a t-shirt later, one that says ' _I survived the Tower of Terror.'"_

Santana contemplates but then, "No."

"Please!" Brittany hugs her tightly and people start to stare. "Please, San." She whispers some very inviting scenarios when they get back to the hotel and lets her lips linger on Santana's earlobe just slightly before giving it a tiny nibble.

Santana has to look away in order to clear her mind from all the dirty thoughts running through her head. She makes the mistake of looking back into those piercing blue eyes and sighs because realistically, she's out of energy. She can only say 'no' to Brittany for so long before she gives in. She knows that as a fact. Finally, Santana backs away from Brittany's embrace and crosses her arms across her chest, looking at Brittany very sternly.

"If I die, you better tell my parents it was your fault!" Santana says.

Brittany's eyes widen and mouth forms a large _O_. "You're gonna go on with me?" Her _O_ turns into a giant smile and she starts jumping up and down before she gives Santana another hug. "Thank you, San. I love you. I love you."

"Uh huh," Santana says trying her best not to smile, "You love me so much you're willing to watch me die aren't you?"

"Oh, stop it," Brittany says and slaps Santana's arm lightly. "If you die, I'll be right next to you holding your hand doing the exact same thing."

Brittany stands there for a moment with a smile plastered on her face before Santana breaks the staring contest, "So… if we're not going to go, I'm going to change my mind."

Quickly, Brittany grabs Santana's wrist and almost drags her towards the _Tower of Terror_ before the brunette changes her mind. Once inside, Brittany is holding Santana's hand tightly. Brittany is a little bit scared of the images portrayed around the area but Santana welcomes the tight grip because she, herself feels completely freaked out. When they are close enough to see the line of people begin to get into their seats to what Santana feels is their 'final destination,' she grips tighter to Brittany's hand.

"I think I made a mistake, can we go back? I don't want to do this anymore," she holds both of Brittany's hands and Brittany can see the genuine fear in her eyes.

"Babe, we've lined up for 45 minutes already," she sighs with a bit of disappointment but understands she can only push her girlfriend so far, "But if you are really that scared, we can go. I'm sure there's an emergency exit somewhere." She begins looking around for an attendant that can show her the way out. When Brittany finally finds one and steps out of the line to ask them where the exit was, Santana grabs her by the elbow and pulls her back.

"Okay, okay. I'll do this. No, I need to do this. I trust you, Britt and if you say I'm not going to die, I trust you. I can trust you, right?"

Brittany gives a tight lipped smile, "Of course you can, honey. But are you sure? I shouldn't have forced you to come with me, I'm sorry. I know how scared you actually are now."

Santana nods, "I'm sure. I've been afraid of this ride for far too long. I need to do this." She looks over at what she thinks is a kid not much taller than her waist, "I need this." She takes in a breath and exhales it quickly.

"You can." Brittany gives her a kiss on the cheek

The line begins to move and soon the girls are next. Santana has the death grip on Brittany's hand and she's pretty sure it will leave quite a bruise but she can't help it. They are seated and their seatbelts are fastened.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Santana whispers to herself and she closes her eyes. A few parents turn their head to look at her with disapproval in their eyes. Santana opens her eyes to see that, "Sorry," She mouths.

Santana can't decide if she wants to hold Brittany's hand or the bars in front of her. On the one hand, holding on to the bar might save her from falling out of the seat. On the other hand, she needs the comfort of Brittany's hand. Her hand moves back and forth from Brittany's as the ride is rolling. She needs to make a decision quick. She can't even focus on everything else that's happening in front of her. All the different rooms they're in and all the different things she's supposed to see. Brittany notices Santana's panic and when Santana grips tightly to the bar in front of her, Brittany places her hand on top of Santana's to give it a little squeeze; telling her that she will hang on to her for the contact. Santana is slightly more relieved.

Santana can feel the ride ascend and she can feel her heart about to leap out of her throat. They reach the top and she sees how far up they really are through the open window and she grips the bar so tight she swears she dented it.

The ride plunges downward and Santana lets out one of the loudest screams she ever has. Luckily, there are about 12 other people screaming almost as loud as she is. She shuts her eyes tightly and is only comforted by Brittany stroking the top of her hand. When she feels the ride has stopped she opens her eyes and people are starting to take off their seatbelts. Brittany is looking at her with an amused face and brushes the stray hair away from her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Brittany asks, stroking the back of her hand still glued to the bar.

Santana nods. Brittany helps her take off her seatbelt and holds out her hand so they can walk off the ride together. Before they're able to exit, an older woman looks over at Brittany.

"Is she going to be okay?" the lady asks genuinely worried and it is then Santana realized how loud she must have screamed throughout the ride.

Brittany tells the woman that she will be okay and takes Santana's hands, thanking the woman for her concern and guiding her girlfriend out the doors. They exit through the gift shop and like Brittany promised, bought Santana a t-shirt of her choice. She chose the cheesy _I survived the Tower of Terror_ shirt. Partially just for laughs but also partially because she is actually proud of herself for doing something she had been forever afraid of. Brittany also purchases the photo they take right before the drop. She found it hilarious that Santana's eyes are as wide as she has ever seen it and the fear on her face is enough to make Brittany pout. Brittany, on the other hand has the biggest smile on her face and you can see in the photo that she is holding tightly onto Santana's hand that is almost white from the grip she has on the safety bar. Santana rolls her eyes and asks Brittany why she's spending so much money on such a horrible picture of her but Brittany just laughs and shrugs telling her that she loves it. With a beaming smile, Brittany gives Santana a kiss on the cheek and they walk out of the park. By this time, the sun has practically set but they decide to stay for the final show and fireworks and make their way back to Disneyland Park.

They wander around with a bag of popcorn and another bottle of water when they reach the castle again. This time, the lights are on and the castle is glowing. It is just simply beautiful. The attendant standing there with a camera again asks if they want their photo taken.

The girls look at each other and nod. They set their popcorn to the side and wrap their arms around each other. Santana's arms around Brittany's neck and Brittany's arms wrapped around Santana's waist. The photographer tells them to look at each other and they do. He counts down from three, but when he reaches two the couple's lips come together like magnets and they end the final number on one of their most softest and loving kisses. The man snaps the photo and when he looks back at the screen of his camera he smiles.

"Wow, this is a keeper," he says and shows it to the girls, they can't help but agree. You can see them practically smiling into the kiss. All the love they have for each other is portrayed in that photo.

The girls find the perfect spot to watch the fireworks and Santana tells Brittany she needs to go to the washroom. She leaves for a moment and runs into the photo booth to look through the photos they have taken all day, knowing they will be looking at the photos again at home over the internet with their code on the card they've been carrying around all day, she doesn't want to miss the chance to surprise Brittany and she knows exactly which one she wants to buy. She stops by the gift shop and buys a frame and places it all in her purse. Finally, she makes her way back to Brittany.

They watch the fireworks with Brittany's arms wrapped around Santana's body, giving her kisses on the cheek and neck whenever she felt like it.

"I love you," Brittany whispers in her ear and then nuzzles her face into Santana's shoulder.

"I love you too," Santana whispers back and turns her head to kiss Brittany's forehead.

When they head home, they both realize how tired they are. After a quick shower they curl up into bed. They can't possibly be any closer. They are so tired and so comfortable that packing will just have to wait until the morning. Luckily they don't have to leave until 4pm and Santana had already called for a later check out knowing they wouldn't be ready in the morning.

They wrap themselves into each other and fall asleep while giving each other gentle pecks and kisses. They both fall asleep with their noses touching and light smiles on their face.

* * *

AN2: Non-filler chapter will be up soon (trying to get out of a funky writers block). Thank you for your patience. XOXO ... PS. No you haven't seen the last of our friend, Puck.


	40. Chapter 38

AN: Sorry. Massive writers block.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

The next few days since their return back to Ohio had been quiet. The girls had put Santana's apartment up for sale when she finally decided that she didn't want to have to go back and forth to collect her mail anymore. She felt secure enough in their relationship that she changed her mailing address to Brittany's house. They cleaned out the apartment and kept only a few things that Santana wanted or they shared sentimental value with; such as Santana's couch which they moved back to Brittany's house and kept in the guest room. Once the apartment was cleared out, Santana buried her face into Brittany's chest. Sure, this is what she wanted. She didn't want to live here anymore, this wasn't her home; her home is with Brittany. But this is where she had grown as an independent woman. Although, no tears flowed, Santana let herself relax and be content in Brittany's arms. Brittany stroked her hair and hugged her tight until Santana was ready to leave the apartment. Of course, with that said, they didn't list the apartment up for sale until they did it one last time in the living room. Rachel ended up buying the apartment so she had a place to live when she came back from New York. Since Finn had stopped working at LWSTC he could no longer afford rent and ended up moving back with his mom and stepdad for the time being. This apartment would be their place when she needed it to be. Because of this, Santana gave her a very good price but also made sure her and Brittany fucked numerous times all around the house, just for fun, just for Rachel. Brittany, of course thought Santana was being immature but did not decline Santana's advances and was in fact more than happy to help with this little project until Santana was satisfied... very satisfied... many... many times. When the girls told Rachel what they had done, Rachel gasped, screamed, and nearly fainted but decided it was better not to believe them and convinced herself it was just a joke. But this doesn't mean she didn't go on a full out, hardcore cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting of each room of the apartment after she moved in.

The day of their first year anniversary was the day the girls were to fly back to L.A. for their first shoot on the new T.V. show they were in. After multiple phone calls by both girls, the people organizing the temporary living situations agreed to let the girls share a trailer, but they were warned that the trailer walls were thin and that they would be situated between two other trailers. Santana only smirked before telling them it wasn't going to be an issue.

Santana was pacing back and forth in the trailer rehearsing her lines and Brittany was watching her.

"Honey, I'm getting a little dizzy with you walking back and forth like that," Brittany says. "I'm trying to learn the choreography but all your walking around is distracting me."

"I'm sorry, I can't help it, Britt. This helps me memorize my lines. Besides, you don't have to look at me, just turn around," Santana says as she continues walking up and down the mini walkway.

Brittany stands quickly and grabs Santana by the waist and pulls her to a stop against her own body, "I don't want to turn around. I want to look at you. I may be dizzy but I still can't take my eyes off you."

Santana smiles and wraps her arms around Brittany's neck while still holding the script in her left-hand. "Sweet-talker," Santana says as their lips attach for what is supposed to be a quick kiss.

Brittany holds Santana's head so she's unable to pull back and deepens the kiss quickly. Santana drops the script and begins to stroke at the nape of Brittany's neck. Brittany hums in approval and pleasure. "Mmmm, San..."

Santana pulls back to catch her breath, "Britt, we don't have time. We gotta go to rehearsal in..." She looks at the clock above the door, "10 minutes. They can call us out any minute."

Brittany groans and re-attaches their lips and Santana tries to stop her but fails almost immediately. "But you're so fucking sexy," Brittany mumbles against their kiss. "You've got me..." she begins kissing Santana's neck and she moans, "... so horny," Brittany grabs a boob and Santana hisses as she sucks in a breath and clenches her thighs.

"Brittany... we..." her breath is heavy and she is so turned on. Does she have time? No. "... really shouldn't."

"I'm fucking wet as fuck, San. My pussy is throbbing for your touch." Brittany whispers lowly in Santana's ear. She grabs a hold of the Latina's wrist and slides it into her own panties to prove her point to her girlfriend. Sure enough, Santana's knees go weak at how drenched Brittany is.

"...Fuck," Santana breaths out. She pushes Brittany up against the wall and Brittany does not hesitate to spread her legs wider. Santana slips two fingers in quickly and Brittany grips tightly to the back of Santana's neck. Her head tilted back, enjoying the feeling she had craved so much.

After about 10 thrusts and Brittany was just getting into the rhythm and falling into the feeling of Santana's delightful fingers fucking her, there were three loud knocks on the trailer door.

" _Brittany! Santana! 5 minutes until rehearsals! I have to show you the way so we might as well leave now," an annoying squeaky male voice is heard clearly through the door._

"Fuck!" Santana says and tries to stop but Brittany keeps riding her fingers.

"No! No no, San, don't stop, don't stop."

 **Knock! Knock!**

 _"_ _Brittany! Santana! Are you in there?"_

"Fucking hell!" Brittany whispers loudly.

"Coming!" Santana calls out and focuses herself back to Brittany, "Are you?"

Brittany grabs Santana tightly, trying so hard to reach her climax.

 _"_ _Alright, I'll wait out here. You guys should hurry though, the director doesn't like tardy people!" He calls out._

"Geezus fuck!" Brittany grunts out completely frustrated and grips a hold of Santana's wrist to stop her, "I lost it. Forget it. I lost it." Brittany's face is red but Santana doesn't know if it's from pleasure or frustration. Brittany pulls on Santana's arm and Santana slowly pulls out of her girlfriend giving her a sympathetic glace.

"I'm sorry babe. Tonight though, we'll continue tonight."

Brittany just sighs and shrugs. She quickly fixes her hair as Santana goes to the sink to wash her hands. The girls look at each other and even though Santana can see the sexual frustration in Brittany's eyes she can't help but tip toe and kiss her nose. Brittany smiles slightly but shakes her head and huffs as they walk out the door. There is a red headed man waiting for them outside. Brittany just glares at the man.

"This way ladies," he says as he holds out his arm. He glances over at Brittany and looks at Santana for any suggestion as to why Brittany has such a sour face. Santana just widens her eyes, gives a smile and walks in the direction of the studio.

"Brittany is getting into character, don't mind her," Santana says to the guy. He takes a chance to look over at the blonde again before quickly looking away in fear. "And she's usually the nice one," Santana winks at the man who is taken aback by the comment and stumbles.

They arrive right on time and the director is ready to start right away. In one of the scenes, Santana's character is arguing with Darla and as soon as the fight begins Santana's double switches over and Brittany takes over Darla's spot. Once Santana is finished with all her scenes, Brittany takes over with all the fight scenes. They are simple 'standing on top of cars' or just plain old 'fighting on the street' scenes. Nothing like falling off a platform so Santana stays and watches. She watches with a proud smile on her face.

 _Damn my girlfriend is hot!_ Santana thinks to herself. Just then her phone buzzes and it's a text. She reads through it a few times before replying. This happens a couple more times and the final time Brittany notices. At the same moment Santana looks up from her phone with a smile on her face, Brittany gets called to take her place on the "X" once again.

Santana's phone buzzes and she looks down at it with a smile then tucks it in her pocket not wanting to distract Brittany from her work when someone suddenly sits down next to her.

"You are quite the popular one, aren't you?" says a female voice on her right side.

Santana turns her head and it's a young blonde woman not more than 19 years old holding a sandwich. "I'm sorry?"

"My name is Julie, you must be Santana Lopez."

"I must be," Santana says as she looks the girl up and down. "How do you know who I am?" She questions.

"My dad is the director. My whole life I wanted to kick ass and since my dad is in the industry, I figured what better way to do what I love than go into body doubling. You're Brittany Pierce's girlfriend aren't you?"

"That I am."

"Oh my God, Brittany is amazing. Ever since I saw her demo reel a few weeks ago I wanted to learn from her. Look at her," She directs her gaze at other blonde running through her choreography. "She makes everything look so realistic and when I asked my dad about her he told me that she's super friendly too."

"Much friendlier than I am," Santana says. Wary that this Julie girl may have the hots for her girlfriend.

"But my dad still didn't want to hire her you know?"

Santana head snapped over quickly, "What? Why?"

Julie took a bite of her sandwich and shrugged, "he said that she had a bad rep and got in a bit of a pickle out in Ohio with some hot shot martial artist named..." Julie thinks about it but struggles; she quickly gives up. "I forgot the name, but I don't really care. I asked my friend Vic because he's in the industry too and apparently he knows her very well and he told me all about that dude... damnit, what's his name? Anyway, he is _not_ a nice man, wow. Vic ended up talking to my dad and told him everything he read on some second email was true? I had no idea what he was talking about but apparently my dad knew right away. After careful consideration and me begging to learn from Brittany, he agreed to let her do a couple of shoots." Julie takes another bite of the sandwich and finishes it off.

Just as Santana was about to comment they hear, "QUIET ON THE SET," and both girls focus their eyes on the fight scene that was about to happen.

After Brittany had finished that take, Julie got up and stuck out her hand and Santana takes it, "Thanks for chatting with me Santana; it was so great to meet you. You're a really good actress, I saw you earlier on. I have to go talk to my trainer now and hopefully maybe one day I can be as great as Brittany. See you guys tomorrow!" Julie turns and leaves with a skip in her step.

Santana is shocked at the enthusiasm of the girl. She barely got a few words in but shrugged it off. That was quite the story she needed to tell Brittany. Just then, her phone buzzes again and Santana pull it out of her pocket. She's reading the next text and smiles. It's quite a long text and she is so engulfed in reading it that she doesn't notice the girl standing in front of her drinking a bottle of water.

"Ready to go for lunch?" Brittany finally says and snaps Santana's attention up towards her. Santana is startled and quickly presses the button that shuts off the screen on her phone.

Brittany eyes her suspiciously but Santana puts on her biggest smile and stands up, "Yes! I'm starving."

The girls go outside to where the catering food truck had laid out a spread of sandwiches, soups, fruit salad, cold cuts, potato chips, and 3 different kinds of compound salads. Brittany grabs two plates and hands one to Santana as they grab their food. They each grab a bottle of water and walk to one of the tables and sit down. They have casual conversations about the piece they are filming and about the salads they are eating. Just then Santana's phone buzzes again and she glances down at her phone to read the partial message that showed up on her locked screen. She smiles at what she sees and then turns her phone off before focusing back at her food.

"Who is that?" Brittany tilts her head to the side and Santana almost gives up the mystery person to the most adorable head tilt she has ever witnessed. Fortunately for her, Julie passes by behind Brittany and Santana looks up just as she was about to blurt out who it was she was texting. Julie gives a little hop behind Brittany, waves at Santana and then focuses on the back of Brittany's head while completely but silently fangirling behind her idol. Santana lifts her hand to wave back and to introduce her but Julie freaks out and shakes her head and runs away.

Brittany turns her head only to see the other blonde sprinting the other way. She turns back to her Latina and quirks an eyebrow.

"That was Julie," Santana explains. Brittany takes in a breath and puts her fork down getting ready to get hurt until Santana speaks again, "your biggest fan."

"Who? My? What?" Brittany says and turns her head again but Julie was long gone.

"You're her idol," Santana says with a proud smile. "She came to talk to me when you were filming and she's totally in love with you. She wants to be you when she grows up," Santana jokes and Brittany throws a chick pea at her. "No, really. It's adorable."

"Is she?" Brittany says half sarcastically with her left eyebrow raised.

"Uhh," Santana is a bit shocked at Brittany's words, "No! Well, I mean, she's not ugly or anything but I just think it's cute that she's so giddy when she's around you."

Brittany squints her eyes at her girlfriend but soon puts on a smile and returns to her lunch. Santana on the other hand is itching to check her phone to read the rest of the message but knows better than to do that with Brittany around. She will have to do that later on.

Brittany goes back to shooting after lunch and Santana waits for her in the trailer. She started falling asleep on set and told Brittany during one of the set changes that she would wait for her in the trailer. When she gets there, Santana digs out her phone and reads the message on her phone. With a big smile she texts back with a long message of her own. Santana sighs as she lies down on small couch.

A kiss on her cheek wakes her up. She struggles to open her eyes but when she does she sees the most beautiful thing she is lucky enough to wake up to every morning and it causes her to smile.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Brittany says as she brushes Santana's hair out of her face.

"Morning," Santana replies even though she knows it's not morning. "What time is it?" she asks.

"Quarter to four," Brittany answer. "You can rest a little more, I'm going to take a shower." With that, Brittany kisses Santana on the nose and walks a few steps to the stand up shower they have in the trailer.

Santana closes her eyes for a few more moments but decides it's time to get up. She flips though a few magazines that are stashed on the little table next to the door and notices a Sudoku page and dog ears it for Brittany. Does she care that the magazine doesn't belong to her? Not really. It's in her trailer so it's hers and Brittany is going to do the Sudoku on it whether they're allowed to or not.

Brittany comes out of the shower all fresh and clean with a towel covering majority of her body. She goes into her bag to take out a t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. She dries her hair with her towel and then throws her towel on the back of the desk chair. She plops down next to Santana on the couch and quickly snuggles into her girlfriend.

"Hi," Brittany says to the brunette.

"Hi to you too, baby," Santana says with a smile. She puts the magazine down and scoots over to the arm rest of the couch. She tugs on Brittany's arm to follow her and Brittany props her tired body on top of the Latina's. She wraps her pale arms around Santana's waist and they just sit in contentment for a while. Santana strokes Brittany's arm unconsciously before looking down at the arm that's wrapped around her waist. She wants to mention everything she read on the text but she knows she needs to wait until they get back to Lima. As she is stroking the arm around her, she feels a little bump. She eyes it closely and notices that it's red and beginning to bruise. She looks up and down the arm and sees little bruises here and there. She strokes the bruises lightly, "Does it hurt?" She asks quietly. She knows Brittany will get cuts and bruises and possible bigger injuries from what she does but it never stops hurting her heart to see her girlfriend all banged up.

"Not really," Brittany replies with barely a shrug. "But what you're doing feels really good." Brittany snuggles up closer and Santana continues to run her fingers over the little bruises. Brittany sits up slightly to stretch out her neck and shoulders before falling back on top of Santana. "Here," Santana says as she sits so her legs are hanging off the couch properly. Brittany immediately lies face down with her chest on Santana's legs and her face resting on a little pillow that matches the couch. Santana gives Brittany a relaxing neck and upper back massage to relieve some of the tension built up today.

"Mmm," Brittany moans. "Thank you."

"No problem babe."

10 minutes go by and just when Santana thinks that Brittany has fallen asleep, the girl speaks. Her voice is mumbled as she speaks into Santana's thigh, but Santana can understand her.

"Are you ready for Monday's shoot? Did you hear?" Brittany says tiredly.

Santana chuckles because she did. "Well, we still have to work on our stuff for tomorrow and the day after, but yes, I can't wait to prepare for Monday's shoot and yes I did hear. This is going to be fun." Santana says with a smile.

Brittany turns her head to kiss her thighs, "Just don't hit me too hard okay?"

"Please I could never hurt you," Santana says as she continues to massage the blonde's back.

"I beg to differ," the blonde says.

Santana runs her fingers through Brittany's hair, knowing what she meant because she would have said the same thing, so she changes her wording, "I mean I could never hurt you physically, and I never would intentionally."

"Well," Brittany points out, "Sometimes when you bite my neck or shoulder, that kinda hurts… but I like it. Or sometimes when you pull on my hair when I'm going down on you it kinda hurts… but I like it. Sometimes when you scratch my back with your nails when you're cumming, it kinda hurts… but I like that too," Brittany says matter of factly and Santana can't help herself but feel a little bit warmer at the girl's words. "Hey," Brittany says and it snaps Santana's mind back to where she is. "You stopped massaging me, what has you so distracted?" Brittany can hardly hold in her chuckle.

Santana continues to massage but trails her hand up to the nape of Brittany's neck and massages there knowing that Brittany loves that spot massaged the most especially when they are making out. Brittany hums out in pleasure before she moves herself to kiss at Santana's thigh then up towards her hip. She finally makes her way up Santana's body before their lips attach with each other, yet Santana has not for a moment stopped massaging the nape of Brittany's neck. Brittany repositions herself to straddle the brunette.

"Let's continue what we started this morning, shall we?" Santana asks with a smirk.

And they did. Quietly…. Or at least as quietly as possible.

Best Anniversary ever.

* * *

The rest of the week flies by and both girls are busy with their own scenes. Brittany goes into a special training area to practice her choreography with a few other stunt people and Santana is on set filming her scenes. Once they're done, they have a little break and then its Brittany's turn. Usually the girls would have lunch together if they're able to but many times, Brittany only has breakfast in the morning and skips lunch due to her rigorous physical activities and she doesn't want to feel weighed down or get any cramps. She may join Santana with an apple and a bottle of water, but that's usually it. Santana would always give her a kiss good luck the same way Brittany gives one to her before her scenes and Brittany would go get changed into whatever she need her to wear that day. Sometimes Santana would go back to the trailer to rehearse her lines, but sometimes she would stay and watch her girlfriend. She would always catch Julie peeking in if not actually sitting on one of the chair admiring her idol, but she always leaves before Brittany is finished.

One time Santana sat down to watch but had to leave when Brittany supposedly had to run her head through a car window. Although she knew it was a sugar-glass window, she couldn't bear to watch so she got up, texted Brittany to tell her where she was going and left. Once outside the studio, Santana received a call. She talked to this person all the way back to the trailer and for another half hour afterwards. After she hung up, Santana decided to run through her lines for her shot next week so that she didn't have to cut the weekend short and spend both full days with Brittany.

When Brittany got back, she went (as usual) directly to the shower after giving her girl a hello-kiss. She definitely had to shower all the little pieces of 'glass' out of her hair.

Coming out of the shower, Santana was texting on the phone once again. First with a serious look on her face, then with a smile as she continued typing.

"Either someone is sweet talking you or you're telling Lord Tubbington a joke, and I really hope it's the latter of the two," Brittany says as she walks into the bedroom where Santana is sitting on the corner of the bed. She quickly shuts off her phone and stands up.

"It's neither, so don't worry about it," Santana says and goes in for a hug but Brittany doesn't hug back. She looks at the blonde worriedly and the blonde eyes her skeptically. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Brittany questions back. "San, be honest with me. What's going on? Who are you talking to that has you smiling goofily and has you constantly texting? Is it Julie? I'm not really comfortable with all of this," Brittany says while looking at her feet.

"You're not comfortable with me talking to people and being happy? And no it is not Julie!" Santana says defensively but knows she shouldn't be. She would be the same way if Brittany did the same thing, but she just wants to get off this topic until they get back to Lima and she really doesn't want to disguise whatever she is doing with a lie, she would rather just avoid the topic.

Brittany sighs, "No, it's not that. It's just… Never mind," the blonde huffs as she leaves the room.

Santana feels guilty and sends out another text to this supposed mystery person. After receiving a reply in less than 10 seconds, she sighs again and walks out to see her girlfriend sitting on the couch flipping through the pages of the magazine without even reading it. She plops down next to her girlfriend.

"I dog-eared a Sudoku for you," Santana says trying to start up a light hearted conversation.

Brittany looks at her and continues flipping through the pages. She starts flipping faster and faster before she slams the magazine closed and tosses it back onto the little table next to the door.

"Santana," Brittany says turning her head to face her. Santana is shocked at the direct look Brittany is giving her but completely understands where it's coming from. Brittany takes in a deep breath and focuses her eyes back onto her hands that are now clasped together on her lap. "I have great pride in our communication skills and I feel like it has been working very well for our relationship so far. I don't know what you're hiding or why you're hiding it but I just want to let you know that if you're cheating on me or if you're thinking of cheating on me – and this means sending out sweet messages to whoever it is out there – you should just tell me now because obviously we are doing something wrong. Or I'm doing something wrong."

"Britt," Santana says as she wiggles her fingers between Brittany's clasped hands and slides her fingers to intertwine with the blonde's. "I'm not cheating on you nor have I ever even thought of cheating on you. I am not flirting or sweet talking anyone right now. I'm constantly checking my phone because… there is an important matter going on back in Lima and I need to respond to their questions." Brittany is about to speak but Santana continues, "I know you're wondering who this person is and trust me, I want so badly to tell you everything, but I can't until we go back and then this will all make sense. I promise."

Brittany doesn't respond.

"Please believe me," Santana adds trying very hard to catch Brittany's eyes with her own.

Brittany looks into Santana's eyes trying to read her and Santana stares back directly into the ocean blue eyes trying her best to convey the truth through eye contact.

Brittany nods, "Okay, I believe you."

"I love you," Santana says as she brings their clasped hands up to her lips and kisses Brittany's knuckles. "I will never hurt you like that, ever. And I would never ever cheat on you."

"I love you, too. And for the record, I would never cheat on you either."

"Good!" Santana smiles as she kisses Brittany's knuckles again.

* * *

Monday comes around and the girls are ready and excited for their scene together. Santana is to get into a heated argument with Darla in a parking lot over a highly confidential flash drive when Santana's real identity is revealed and that she was out to destroy Darla's entire family including her mother, father, and twin babies – after already killing her husband. This causes Santana to attack Darla aka Brittany with a few punches and having the third punch landing on her face and then smashing an empty beer bottle over her head. The fight scene they shot the week before was to come after this one. They had filmed the other scene first because of time constriction and the wiring they needed for a few throws and jump kicks were only set up for that day so they just got all the big fight scenes out of the way. In the end Santana's character ends up dying after a car suddenly turns into the parking lot and slams into her just right after she gets kicked in the face and she's stumbling around. Sure, Santana's character was the bad guy and deserved to die but Brittany still hated the idea. She had a hard time watching when they had to splatter fake blood all over Santana's face and she had to lie on the floor with her eyes open and unmoving for 20 seconds to get the perfect camera angle. She had to shoot this about three times before they got the shot they wanted and each time she got splattered with a fresh batch of fake blood, Brittany's heart clenched at the image. Once they broke up the scene and they had all the footage they needed Brittany quickly got Santana a wet towel to wipe off her face so she could finally breathe again.

A few sugar-glass beer bottles are on set next to a lamp post and Santana and Brittany are ready for their scene. Originally, Santana was supposed only slap Brittany across the face but the director felt like it needed more umph. It needed more combat so he decided to add the few extra punches. First Santana is to slap Brittany across the face but it gets blocked and Brittany grabs her hand, Santana then spins around and swings a back fist and Brittany ducks but then Santana is to throw a right hook and have it land on Brittany's jaw, then she is to turn and grab the bottle and smash it over her head at an angle; to which Brittany is to stumble and fall to one knee grabbing her head and face in her hand before switching off back to Darla who already has blood smeared on her head and dripping down her face.

After a few practices and Brittany telling Santana to just go for it, they are ready to shoot. Brittany gives Santana a quick peck on the cheek which obtains a few ' _aww's'_ from the crew and an eye roll from Santana, they get into character and is ready to roll.

The set is quiet and the spotlight is on the girls.

"ACTION!" The director yells out.

"… and now it's your turn," Santana says lowly as her eyes go cold with anger and hatred. She brings her right hand up and swings it towards Brittany's face. Brittany catches it with ease and just as she's about to spin around for the back fist the director calls cut.

"Santana," The director calls out with his megaphone, "I know you don't want to hit her but you have to be more convincing."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Santana says. And sets herself up again for the next take. Brittany gives her a glare to help her get into character but she also knows that Santana is forced to use her right hand to slap and to send her the right hook because of the camera angles and she knows how frustrated she can get with that.

"ACTION!"

"… and now it's your turn," Santana says once again and brings her arm up to slap she does it much quicker this time and then spins with her left arm flying quickly around, Brittany ducks but before Brittany is able to stand again, Santana swings her right hook too quickly and misses. She loses her footing and stumbles, but Brittany is quick to catch her.

"Cut!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Santana says completely embarrassed and there are a few chuckles in the studio but they quiet down when both girls send out piercing glares.

"Give her a break, she's a lefty!" Brittany calls out to everyone to defend her girl and there are a few mumbles of understanding. Santana smiles gratefully and they get back into place.

Five takes later and after a few more practices they finally get what they think is the perfect shot and Santana gets so excited that she stops and completely forgets to grab the bottle behind her.

"Fuck! I'm sorry guys," Santana says completely frustrated at herself.

Brittany grabs Santana by the shoulders and looks her in the eyes, "Breathe babe, breathe. Take it easy on yourself, you don't usually do scenes like this okay?" Santana nods. "You can do this," Brittany says with a closed lip smile, "I believe in you," she says as she gets back to her spot.

Santana takes in a deep breath and nods.

The set is quiet again, "ACTION!"

Slap is caught. Swing is perfect. The right hook barely misses the side of Brittany's face like it should and Brittany snaps her head quickly while pretending the last shot made contact to her jaw. Santana grabs the bottle from behind her and hesitates before smacking it lightly over Brittany's head. The glass itself shatters but Brittany is standing there with a very unimpressed, almost bored look on her face.

"Cut!"

"Santana, you need to really smack that thing over my head. Like, hard! Okay? You're not going to hurt me," Brittany says while passing Santana another bottle and the other ones get replaced by crew members. "Try again, and just hit me hard."

"But…" Santana tries to tell her that she doesn't want to hit her but Brittany interrupts her by smashing another bottle over Santana's head. "WHAT THE FUCK, BRITT?" Santana screams and now most of the crew and the rest of the cast are holding in their laughter with wide eyes.

"Did it hurt?" Brittany challenges.

"No, but still…. What the hell?" Santana says as she shakes the sugar pieces off her head.

"Exactly," Brittany says as crew members quickly sweep up the mess on the ground and replace the bottle to the exact spot Brittany took it from. "Just proving a point, San. You're not going to hurt me, you're a great actress. You wouldn't hold back if it were anyone else, so don't hold back with me, okay? Just hit me."

The director walks towards the girls, "Everything okay? Are you guys ready?"

"We are," Brittany says confidently sending Santana a reassuring nod and Santana nods back in return.

"ACTION!"

Slap. Swing. Hook. Santana angrily grabs the bottle with her right hand and swings it as hard as she can at a sharp angle towards Brittany's head. Unfortunately for Brittany, Santana's control over any appendage on her right side is very limited and she ends up swinging too low and her knuckles make contact with Brittany's cheek bone and the bottle just shatters in her hand.

"OW!"

"CUT!"

Everyone stops to look at the two girls. Brittany is rubbing her left upper cheek looking at Santana with confusion as Santana is shaking off her hand obviously in pain from punching Brittany in the face; the words of pain coming from the Latina.

"Are you okay?" Brittany asks trying to look at Santana's hand. "I'm sorry." She looks at her hand and her knuckles are a little bit pink. "Does it hurt?"

"Geez, Britt. Your face is hard as hell… ohhh… oh no…" Santana says as she looks at Brittany looking at her with a curious look in her eyes and a tilt of the head.

"What?"

"Shit! Brittany, you're bleeding," Santana turns to look around at the others on set, "Brittany's bleeding," she says louder this time and two crew members quickly rush to her side with first aid kits.

"How did that happen?" Brittany says reaching for her injury but Santana pulls her hand away. "I thought you just punched me," Brittany laughed.

Santana is not laughing though. She's serious. She's worried and she feels really guilty.

"I'm so sorry, Britt. You know how my right hand has a mind of its own." She looks down again at her hand and she sees the culprit. When she missed, she must have scraped Brittany's with her thumb nail which is unusually sharp today before punching her in the face.

"Take five," the director calls and he tells them to clean Brittany up and get some make up on that bruise before they start shooting again. He then tells the girls that he wants them to work on it a few more times before they actually turn the camera on. He was nice about it but Santana can tell he was starting to get frustrated.

"I'm sorry," Santana says to both the director and to Brittany. Brittany just takes her hand and kisses it.

"It's okay. It happens. It doesn't even hurt," Brittany says with a shrug and then is instructed to stop moving as they clean her up and cover her with make-up.

Eventually, the girls film the take perfectly and realistically. The director sends everyone for their lunch break at 1pm, way later than they usual since they were not expecting this scene to take so long, but everyone is happy with the end result so that's all that matters.

At the end of the day, the girls are tired, dirty with sweat and dust from the scene and not to mention particles of sugar from the glass bottles. They relax on the small couch in their trailer trying to convince the other to take a shower first. Santana brushes her thumb lightly over the little band-aid they put on Brittany's cheek after they cleaned off the make-up. She gives it feather light kisses and it only causes Brittany to chuckle. Eventually, Brittany gets up first and hops into their little stand up shower. Santana can't wait to get back to Lima and shower in their own washroom. She takes out her phone to check her messages. She puts her ear on the door of the washroom and when she hears that Brittany has started up the shower, she calls back the 3 missed calls from the same number.

"Hey, it's Santana. Sorry, I missed your call but I got your messages. How is everything going over there?" ….

* * *

AN2: I'm kind of not feeling this story right now. I feel like I lost the climb to the top and I have reached my plateau... it's not as intriguing anymore. There are still parts I really want to get into but I can't find a good way into it. I feel like the last few chapters have been uneventful and boring... thoughts?


	41. Chapter 39

AN:A short chapter. A few ends I need to close up before finishing this story. There will only be a few more chapters left ... however... there are still some issues I want to get into that I feel like can be continued in a 2nd part. Anyone interested in a sequel of this story or is this good enough for all of you? Regardless of your answers, I appreciate all the support you have given me in my first story ever. I also have an idea for another (completely different) story but I want to do everything I can for this one first since I consider this story my baby. Anyway, let me know! On with the story...

* * *

When the girls finish their weeks of filming, they head back to Ohio. First thing they do is visit Brittany's parent's home to say hi, give everyone some souvenirs they forgot to give them from Disneyland the first time around and to pick up Lord Tubbington. Brittany smoothers the giant furball with hugs and kisses before setting him down. He immediately purrs and rubs himself up against Santana's leg and she can't help but smile and pet his soft squishy back. They talk to the family for a while before heading back home with Lord Tubs in Santana's arms.

The girls got home and unpacked. It was a long couple of weeks and they just wanted to relax. They threw in a load of laundry and both plopped down onto the couch with their feet up on the coffee table flipping through channels. They ordered in Chinese for dinner and were waiting on their rice and beef, and chicken and noodles with a side of stir fried veggies. When there was a knock on the door both girls looked at each other then at the money on the coffee table, then at each other again. Neither of them wanting to get up. Suddenly, Santana's stomach volunteers her by growling loudly and she grabs the money off the coffee table and walks to the door leaving a victorious Brittany chuckling on the couch.

After a quiet meal on the couch, both girls clean up and make their way back to the couch again to snuggle.

"Mmm... I've missed this," Brittany says with her arms wrapped around the brunette.

"I've missed this too. I'm glad we have a few days to rest and relax like this. Traveling and working makes me tired."

"Me too," Brittany pauses for a moment. "Hey, San?"

Santana nods her head acknowledging her question and urges her to continue.

"Now that we're back in Lima, can you tell me who you were constantly talking to in L.A.?"

Santana can feel her own body stiffen. She knew this was coming but she didn't know Brittany would ask so soon. She turns to face her girlfriend to make sure she knows she's being sincere. "Britt-Britt, please don't get mad, but I can't tell you just yet. You will find out within the week, okay? I promise." She lifts her pinky to her and Brittany looks at it with a bit of doubt in her eyes. Santana knows she has never broken a promise to Brittany, and if she makes a promise, she intends to keep it. She just hopes the other person is ready to open up to Brittany as well.

Britany takes her pinky in her own, "Fine. You're lucky I love you."

"I know I am," Santana says while kissing their linked pinkies.

* * *

2 days later...

 ** _I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive... I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise... To fly-ayyyyy…_**

Santana reaches over Brittany on the couch to get to her phone. Brittany had passed out after going for a jog and fell asleep with her head on Santana's knee.

"What?"

 _"_ _Wow, is that how you greet people on the phone? No wonder you haven't had many jobs."_

"Shut up. What do you want?'

The girl on the other line sighs, " _Some mail came for you at the apartment. Finn and I were on our way out and was wondering if you wanted us to bring it over to you_."

Feeling a little guilty at being so rude to Rachel, she nods. "Okay, sure, that would be great. Brittany is a sleep right now through, so you can't stay."

 _"_ _It's okay, we weren't planning to stay. Finn is still... well..._ " She lowers her voice to a whisper, " _he's still scared of you."_

Now it's Santana's turn to sigh. Sure she was mad at Finn for being so ignorant to Kenneth's intensions, but he was genuinely clueless and he does really care for Brittany.

"He has nothing to be scared of, I'm not mad at him anymore. It's over and done with."

" _Yeahhhhh_..." Rachel drags on, _"I still think he wants to stay away for a little longer especially if Brittany won't be awake to protect him_."

Santana rolls her eyes and shakes her head even though Rachel can't see it. "Fine, whatever he big lug wants. I'll see you in a bit."

Rachel brings over the letter just as Brittany wakes up and decides to hop into the shower. Santana and Rachel chat for a bit at the door as Finn is across the street pretending to look at the neighbour's tulip garden. They talk about Mercedes and her boyfriend. They chat a little bit about Kurt and Blaine's on and off again relationship, which they currently are on at the moment and are going over to Rachel's apartment for dinner which Santana politely declines the invite. Well, as politely as possible with the word 'no.' They talk lightly about Brittany's situation with Kenneth and how her life had just started to pick up again. With a quick hug (on Rachel's part) Santana closes the door with an envelope in her hand. It's quite thick and the return address looks familiar but isn't too sure where she knows it from. She sits on the couch and rips the side open and slides out the contents inside. Once the small card drops onto her lap she knows exactly what it's for.

"Whatchu lookin' at?"

Santana is startled and jumps in her seat.

Brittany giggles, "What has you so focused, babe? Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Brittany lays a small kiss on Santana's cheek as she pats her hair dry.

"The pre-screening to _Hammer's Time_. You should've got one too, right?"

"Maybe I'll get it in the next couple of days. The mail here tends to take a bit longer, I have no idea why," Brittany explains then looks at Santana's questionably, "Did you want to go?"

Santana shrugs, "I'm not sure. Should I?"

Brittany shrugs as well and takes Santana's invitation out of her hand and reads it, "It's your first big movie, and you played a huge part. I think you should go, but I also know you are uncomfortable seeing some of those people so it's totally up to you." She says as she hands the invitation back to her girlfriend.

"I'll have to think about it. I have until..." Santana looks for the RSVP date on the invite, "I have until next week to decide."

"Great! And if I get an invite," Brittany raises an eyebrow, "we can decide together. They usually forget about us stunt people though because we don't have lines and our faces aren't shown on screen."

"Doesn't make you any less important though," Santana says seriously, "I'm sure you'll get an invite."

Brittany only shrugs. "It's not a big deal since my part isn't really that relevant, but for you, it's huge. I can always go as your plus one," Brittany says with a wink.

"They're not going to forget about you," Santana says sternly. Brittany only kisses Santana's hand and smiles. Apparently it happens a lot that stunt doubles aren't' acknowledged for their work on the big screen other than their name on the credits at the end of the film that no one watches. Brittany had only received a handful of official pre-screenings she has worked on but usually she gets to go to the first official public screening. It hardly bothers her.

However, Santana was right. The next day Brittany had received a pre-screening invitation as well. ' _Lucky for them'_ , Santana thinks to herself as she was planning on making a big stink out of it if Brittany and Mike weren't invited. They decide that if they were to go together, everything would be okay and Brittany would not let Puck anywhere near her girlfriend. Still skeptical, Santana decides to wait until the weekend to RSVP in case she changes her mind.

4 days later...

"Are you ready to go?" Santana asks while wringing at her wrists. She knows it's a telltale sign that she's nervous but she can't help it. Today is the day the long kept secret is exposed.

"Hold on," Brittany says from the kitchen. "I have to make sure Lord Tubbington drinks his water after lunch or he gets constipated."

Santana's lips pull downward at the remark and remembers the last time the poor guy was constipated; it was not a pretty sight.

Finally, Brittany grabs her purse and they head out the door.

"Where are we going?" Brittany asks as Santana unlocks her car door and the girls hop in.

"You'll see."

Santana drives for about 20 minutes while constantly checking her phone for directions at almost every red light they stop at and finally goes in through an alley and parks in front of a brick building. It looks like the back of an old store or auto centre or something. There are two other cars in the parking lot and a few in the reserved spots for the restaurant next door. Santana puts on her breaks and turns off the ignition. She pulls out her phone and sends a quick text before turning off the screen and turning to face the blonde who is looking at her intently.

"Where are we?" She asks.

"You'll see," is all Santana can say as she tries to stop her knees from bouncing from anticipation. Finally her phone buzzes and she checks the message. "Okay, let's go."

She opens her door and Brittany follows. They hold hands as they walk to the giant metal door just up a few steps from the ground.

"San, are you nervous or something?"

"N-no, why? What makes you say that?" Santana says nervously.

"Well, first because your hands are shaking and they're clammy. Second because of that look on your face. You look like you don't know whether you want to smile or cry. Are you sure you're okay?"

Santana takes in a deep breath, "I'll be okay as soon as I know you're okay with everything."

"It would be a lot easier if you told me what was going on," Brittany said as she tries to read the brown eyes in front of her.

"You'll find out soon enough," Santana says with a small smile but she knows for a fact that her hands are still trembling.

Brittany leans in for a quick peck and Santana turns to face the door and knocks twice. They wait. They hear the door finally unlock and the big heavy door gets pulled open.

"Sue!" Brittany almost screams and Santana quickly lets go of Brittany's hand in fear she would get dragged through the door. Brittany wraps her arms around the older woman, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I guess Santana is a good secret keeper after all." Both blondes look over at Santana still standing in the doorway. She shrugs her shoulders and smirks before taking a step into the large room.

After the hugs and a few words the girls take a walk through the room which definitely used to be an automobile garage. There is a large empty space and an office on the side and a receptions area. The front of the building has 2 doors and a large window. There are planks of wood everywhere, buckets of paint, tarps, ladders, and other construction materials and tools scattered all over the place.

"Watch your step," Sue says as she leads the girls towards a lone table and pulls out a couple of dusty chairs which she wipes down with a clean cloth before offering them a seat.

"What is this place?" Brittany asks. She looks at both Sue and Santana but neither of them are giving anything away with the stoic looks on their faces.

Sue chooses to ignore the question and answers with a question of her own, "How are you doing Brittany? I heard that you were just filming in L.A., how did that go?"

"It was great!" Brittany says with a smile, although the fact that her own question being ignored has not been forgotten. "I got to work with Santana so that's always amazing, I love working with her." She beams a smile at her girlfriend which sends a cheek bunching smile back at her.

"That's great," Sue says before turning more serious. "First off, Brittany, I want to apologize for everything that happened with Kenneth. I thought I was making the right choice by selling him the studio but I should have done a more extensive check on him. I was... I was in a rush to sell the place so I can get a start on my new career. I was being selfish and by selling it to Kenneth I hurt a lot of people."

"Sue..." Brittany says sympathetically, "It's not your fault at all. I'm sure he had his credentials even if they were exaggerated and a lot of information about his past was left out. You couldn't have known if you didn't actually get to work under him. Besides, he would never have shown his true colours to you, he wanted to take over so badly."

Sue nods in acknowledgement, "Because of him, The Shark Tank's good reputation turned sour, most of the good employees like Quinn, Ashley, and yourself had quit or been fired and the thing he did to you... the letter he wrote about you to all those people, that was inappropriate and horrendous to say the least. Someone like you should never have to go through something like that. You have such a good heart, Brittany, and I can't forgive him for that."

Brittany just shrugs. Santana knows that it's still a sensitive subject for her. She grips Brittany's hand under the table and gives it a light squeeze and Brittany squeezes back.

"…And that amazing rebuttal letter?" Sue breaths out and shakes out her wrist as if just talking about the letter was too hot to handle, "That was so incredibly written. Everything was so on point and trust me, if I were Kenneth, I would be watching my back and I'd stay away from you. Far away from you if I could."

"Well, that was all Santana," Brittany has a proud look on her face and gives her hand another squeeze and a shake, "She has a way with words and well, she knows how to put people in their place with them. Let's just hope he doesn't stir anything up again, I don't think I can handle it." Britany looks down at the table and licks her lips.

Sue and Santana make eye contact and Santana gives her a slight nod without Brittany noticing.

Sue clears her throat and Brittany looks back up at her. "Well, Brittany. You may be wondering why you're sitting here in this dusty old automotive garage and I think it's about time we told you."

Brittany looks curiously at Sue then at Santana who only smiles but doesn't give her any type of hint at what's going on. All she can feel are Santana's fingers trembling again against the palm of her hand so she grips it tighter and strokes her thumb over the back of Santana's hand to soothe her even though she has no idea what is going on. Should she be nervous too?

Sue begins speaking as she walks over to what used to be the reception area of the automotive garage.

"I have been in contact with Miss Lopez for a while trying to get as much information out of her as I can, but apparently she's only going with her gut since a certain blonde doesn't really like to give any concrete answers."

Brittany looks at Santana and whispers quietly, "Quinn?"

Santana breaks into a smile and shakes her head.

Sue interrupts their little conversation, "Not Quinn." And Brittany turns back towards Sue who is now walking back towards their table holding a manila folder and a binder in hand.

Sue Continues, "The Shark Tank was my pride and joy for years. I started from nothing. I had one instructor and I was only open once a week teaching cardio and yoga. Slowly but surely I built it to be what it was and I can honestly say that you, Miss Pierce, played a huge part in it. I am so proud of you and so grateful that you chose to work with me. I got to watch you grow as an instructor, I got to see all the ways you made class more exciting for everyone who was attending and you have no idea how many people joined The Tank because of reviews they read about _you._ "

Santana raises her hand with a smile and both Sue and Brittany grin knowing that Santana was one of those people who read a review and decided to join the club.

"Brittany, I will still be working with the travelling acrobats so I can't say I will be running another Shark Tank…" Sue says.

Brittany's heart drops a tad because she had hopes that Sue will open again and she can once again continue her passion and pass her knowledge on self-defence and fitness onto other patrons.

Sue pulls out the beige manila folder, opens it, and spins it so it's facing Brittany, "… so, I would like to run it with you. I will own half of it by doing what I was basically doing before with the paperwork, and other non-physical aspects of the studio, and you, the other half by running all the classes, choosing instructors on who you feel is best fitted for each area, and basically doing what _you_ were doing before but with just a bit more power," Sue winks at her. "Oh, and you don't have to call it The Shark Tank if you don't want to, you have free reign of the name, I'm only here to support you and help you with the financials and the administration. If you agree, this place is ours… well, yours," Sue lifts her arms up displaying the entire space they are currently sitting in, "Contractors are waiting for approval before they begin painting the walls and putting in new floors and mirrors as well as metal bars up top for heavy bags and whatnot. The parking in the back will be reserved for this studio, except for those spots on the side that is already reserved for the restaurant next door."

Both Sue and Santana are smiling, but their smiles fade when Brittany doesn't answer. She hardly even moves. Her eyebrows are clinched together and she's biting the inside of her cheek. She's processing. Santana knows to give her time to process everything. After a few moments of aggravating silence, Brittany finally takes in a long breath and speaks up.

"Sue, I'm sorry but…"

* * *

Sorry to leave you all here. Don't hate me because I love you. XOXO


	42. Chapter 40

AN: Wow, a lot more people are interested in a sequel than I thought. I'm glad you all stuck around with this story. It makes me so happy. Sorry it took so long to upload, life has been busy and it's hard to get out of a writers block when my mind isn't working properly. Funny story I'd like to share though. I've been typing "Santana" so often since this story started that when I was to write a notice for Secret Santa at work I accidentally wrote Secret Santana. I had already printed out many copies and handed them out before someone pointed it out to me. My cheeks couldn't get any redder. Anyway, that's enough of that. Hopefully I will get the next chapter out a lot faster than I did this one. Hope you enjoy it.

* * *

... "Sue, I'm sorry but, is this a dream? You're kidding right? This isn't real," she looks over at Santana with wide eyes then back at Sue then down at the pages on the table. The pages that if she were to sign her name would be co-owner of the new Shark Tank.

"No, Brittany. This is not a dream, this is for real. You sign these papers and The Shark Tank – or whatever you want to call it – will be open once again," Sue says placing a pen down next to the paper.

Brittany looks over at Santana then down to the paper then to Sue then back to Santana.

Santana gives her the biggest smile she can't for the life of her wipe off her face right now.

Brittany picks up the pen, "Wait!" she suddenly calls out and pulls away from the papers, "Do you know the building owners? Assclow – erm… Kenneth doesn't own it does he?" Brittany glares at Santana.

Santana chuckles knowing that Brittany has now been conditioned not to use Dickwad's name and she finds it hilarious.

Sue is taken aback by Brittany's words but collects herself quickly, "No," she responds. "This building is owned by the husband of one of the members I met abroad. It has nothing to do with… Assclown."

All three girls have a giggle with that and Brittany picks up the pen and places it right above the line. She takes in a deep breath and writes her name. The girls are all smiling as Sue flips through the pages and Santana reads the contract before Brittany initials each page it. The last page is for licencing and she needs a name for the place before she's able to get a licence and permit to run a fitness studio out of this building.

"Take your time with this one," Sue says. "You need to be really sure it's something you can be happy with and something you can be proud of."

Brittany just shakes her head and puts the pen to the paper immediately and starts writing. _The Shark Tank._

"It's gotta be this, Sue," Brittany pushes the papers back towards Sue and lays her pen down gently. "It has to be The Shark Tank. It's what made me who I am and there's no way I can find another name more suitable for this studio. Sue, you have been so amazing all these years and I would love to keep this name, if it's okay with you."

Sue is literally beaming and Santana can swear she sees a tear creeping up in her eyes. Sue shuts the folder and walks over to Brittany. She leans down and gives her a big hug thanking her for keeping the name.

Before they leave, Sue unfolds the expected layout of the new studio. She explains to Brittany where everything is going to be and why she is putting it there. Brittany really doesn't care since she has all the faith in the world in Sue's planning. She has run The Tank for so long and she did it successfully. Brittany has no reason to doubt her. Sue will pay for all the renovations, signage, and apparel as well as computer systems and water fees. Brittany agreed to pay for electricity and equipment. They worked out all the paperwork and Sue agreed to give Brittany an extra 15% since she would be the one working at the location. After thanking Sue close to a hundred times, the girls leave. Brittany is buzzing from the excitement and she can't seem to sit still in her seat while Santana is driving home.

Santana decides to drive to Brittany's favourite ice cream parlour to treat her to a congratulatory cone. Brittany chooses a double stacker bubble gum and lemon with sprinkles and Santana chooses a single triple chocolate espresso flake. They take a walk towards a small local park. Brittany takes off her jacket and lays it on the ground for them to sit on. They take their shoes off and sit side by side. Brittany offers Santana a lick of her cone and Santana licks from the bottom up. Brittany feels herself shiver.

Santana puckers and her eyes shut tightly, "Fuck that lemon is sour Brittany!"

Brittany laughs and licks the exact same spot Santana just had, "No it's not. It's perfect," she says as she crunches down on some sprinkles.

"Try mine," Santana offers and Brittany accepts. She too gives a lick from the bottom up but her eyes never leave Santana's. _Geezus_. Santana thinks to herself as she shifts in her seat.

Brittany smacks her lips to bring out the flavours, "It's okay." Brittany shrugs and takes another lick of her own cone.

Santana rolls her eyes and goes back to her own ice cream knowing that Brittany doesn't really like the bitter taste of dark chocolate or espresso flakes. Santana leans her head on Brittany's shoulder as they sit and enjoy themselves watching people running and playing tag in the park. They sit in perfect contentment, just enjoying the presence of each other.

"I'm so proud of you," Santana says, breaking the silence.

"Thank you," Brittany kisses Santana's forehead. "Not just for being proud of me, but for talking to Sue about all of this and surprising me. This is the second best surprise I have ever had."

Santana scrunches her brows, "Second best? What was the first best?'

Brittany chuckles and Santana can feel her head bouncing up and down on Brittany's shoulder. "You seriously don't know?" Brittany asks.

Santana shakes her head as she works her way through the last half of her cone.

Brittany pulls her shoulder away so that Santana would have to lift her head off. Santana looks at Brittany curious as to why she had just removed her pillow from under her. Brittany looks incredibly serious while looking gently into the mocha eyes.

"You. You coming to L.A. last year is the best surprise ever." Brittany leans in for a kiss and Santana accepts.

After a few moments of kissing, Santana can feel eyes on her. Eyes from families trying to enjoy a picnic. Eyes from teenage boys wrestling in the grass. Santana pulls back but Brittany places a hand behind her neck and pulls her back in to deepen the kiss. They kiss for God knows how long before they hear cheering from what they assume are the teenage boys. Brittany starts to giggle and they break apart to take a breath leaning their heads together.

"I love you," Santana whispers.

"I love you too."

"GET A ROOM!" They hear a lady shout and they both snap their heads towards the voice. Everyone, including the teenage boys are looking over at the older lady sitting in her lawn chair wearing a big hat. "YOU HEARD ME! STOP FLAUNTING YOUR SHIT AROUND, NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THAT."

Santana stands up quickly about to jump on the bitch that is about 20 metres away. She doesn't hear all the nasty things other people are saying to the lady. All she hears is the blood flowing in her ears. She's trying to make her way to the woman so she can slap the big yappy trap right off her face but she's not moving. She can't. She looks down and there are strong, slim, pale arms wrapped around her body. Brittany is holding her back.

"Come on, baby. Let's go. Let's not let her ruin our perfect day," Brittany says into her ear.

Santana is still seeing red and her direct focus is on that bitch in front of her. So Brittany tries a different approach.

"Baby, maybe she's right. We should get a room so I can make hot sexy lady love with you."

That worked. Santana stopped struggling to get free. She flips the bitch the bird and picks up Brittany's jacket. Brittany wraps an arm around Santana's waist just in case she tries to get away again. They hear a few "aww's" and "boo's" from the group of guys barbequing on the other side.

Unfortunately, the girls needed to walk pass the lady in order to get to their car.

"No one wants to see that shit," they hear the lady say one more time but Brittany has a tight grip on Santana's waist. She gives it a squeeze telling her not to get too angry and the lady isn't worth it.

Instead, Brittany turns around and faces the lady, "What you said would be really convincing if your husband wasn't drooling all over his shorts."

The man sitting on the ground in front of her blinks a few times at what Brittany had just said and checks the side of his mouth by wiping it on his sleeve. The lady kicks him from behind. The girls start laughing and so do some other members of their picnic.

The girls throw their garbage into the passing bin and hop into the car.

Santana is stroking Brittany's leg all the way home and Brittany can't seem to take her eyes off Santana. Her eyes wander over her face, her lips, her hands, her chest, or her thighs. Every part of Santana has Brittany buzzing right now.

Once Santana manages to park the car, they rush out of the car to the front steps. Since Santana has her keys out already she's trying to unlock the door. Brittany nibbling and kissing on her shoulder, her neck, her ear.

"Fuck! Brittany, I can't concentrate," Santana can't seem to grip the key properly to unlock the door.

"Try harder," Brittany whispers into her hear before biting her lobe. She wraps her arms around the Latina's waist and drags her nails across her abs.

Santana feels flustered, turned on, but frustrated at the same time. She's trying her best not to have to squeeze her thighs together but she has no such luck and she does so to release some of the pressure building up between her legs as she fumbles with the keys. "God damnit," Santana tilts her head up trying to cool down the fast building heat. She didn't realize how turned on she was until now. She can almost feel herself close to coming just from Brittany's body pressed against her back, the stroking of her fingers against her lower stomach and her breath and lips against her neck and ear. "Ugh," she grunts.

Finally she gets the door unlocked in what felt like ages and they make their way in slamming the door shut behind them. Brittany gets pushed up against the door and Santana attacks her lips. Their hands are all over each other. In the hair, under the shirt, tugging on jeans.

"Fuck, Britt. I need you now."

"Mhm," Brittany mumbles as she stumbles to take off her shoes without releasing their lips. She pops open Santana's jeans and yanks them down as far as she can. She leaves Santana to take care of removing the rest of her jeans while Brittany helps her remove her bra and providing kisses to her bare shoulder.

After Santana is left only in her panties and the rest of her clothes are piled up in front of the door, Brittany flips them around and Santana's back hits the door with a thud. Their kisses are heated and sloppy. Brittany attacks Santana's neck with kisses and bites while pulling the last of her undergarment off. Santana kicks her red laced thongs to the side and Brittany immediately drops to her knees. She pulls Santana's right leg up and over her shoulder, opens her lips with her fingers and dives in with the flat of her tongue.

Santana gasps as her knees go weak. She takes in a deep breath and releases it in a loud moan. This is the pleasure she was waiting for. She holds onto the door handle with one hand and Brittany's head with the other. Her head shoots back in pleasure and hits the door with a bang, but she barely feels it.

Brittany strokes her hand up and down Santana's thigh knowingly in hopes to soothe the pain in her head after hearing that hard thud against the door.

Santana can't help but grind down into Brittany's mouth now. Fisting at the blonde locks between her legs.

"Fu-u-ck…" Santana breaths out and Brittany only hums in response.

Brittany can feel Santana's wetness drip down her chin and she wouldn't have it any other way. She draws circles on her clit before taking it into her mouth and sucking. Sucking with a rhythm she knows Santana loves.

Santana can feel her orgasm building so fucking high that she can barely breathe. She can't remember the last time she got a release this big. Had she really been this horny all day?

Brittany runs her palm up and down Santana's flat toned stomach trying her best to tell her to breathe.

Santana tries to but she is lingering too much on the edge and she needs to go over it before she passes out from lack of oxygen. Nothing but high pitch whimpers come from the Santana's mouth, she's close, but then again, she's been close for some time now just waiting to fall over the edge. Her breathing is sporadic. Every time she exhales a new wave of tightness enters he lower stomach and causes her breath to hitch again.

Brittany knows how close she is by the way Santana is gripping her hair and pushing her face harder and grinding down onto her lips. The way her legs are shaking. The way her abs are incredibly tight. Brittany too is having a hard time breathing with her face being pushed against Santana's core so tightly but she loves it.

Santana sees stars and is half a second from falling over the edge when there is a knock on the door right behind her.

It's too late. She's coming and she's coming hard. They hear the knock again and Santana can't help but slam her fist against the door; so hard that Brittany is pretty sure she cracked the wood.

Santana's knees are buckling and Brittany is trying to keep both of their balance but putting one hand against the door to hold them steady. The other hand holding Santana's hip. Santana is still in ecstasy as Brittany slows down her movements feeling drips of wetness slip down her chin and onto the floor. When Santana finally comes down, Brittany slowly brings her leg back down, wipes her chin with the bottom of her own shirt and grips tightly to Santana's body as she stands up. Santana's hand is still balled up in a fist against the door. Brittany goes in and gives Santana a kiss on the temple.

The doorbell rings.

Santana has no strength left. Her eyes are half closed and her breathing is fast but her eyebrows are pinched in annoyance. It was an amazing high but what a way to ruin the moment. Brittany hangs on to Santana with one arm to keep her limp body from tipping over and opens the door a crack with the other to see who it is.

"Rachel, hi," Brittany says with false enthusiasm.

Santana rolls her eyes from behind the door. _Of course it's Berry._

"Brittany! I brought Finn over to say a few words to you and Santana. He's finally ready to apologize in person…" Rachel notices that Brittany's isn't opening the door more than a crack, "Is Santana home?"

"She is but she's busy. She's resting." Brittany knows Santana is getting more infuriated every second Rachel is at the door so she runs her thumb over Santana's bare stomach to soothe her. Luckily it works.

"Oh," Rachel says completely oblivious to Brittany's rejection. "Can we wait inside?" Rachel pushes on the door but Brittany is quick to push back.

"Nope, nope, you can't."

"Why? Is she still mad at Finn? Because she already said she wasn't and besides, it has been a really long time and he's really sorry for telling Kenneth everything and causing you and Santana so much stress, but I believe it's time for everyone to do some forgiving and accept Finns apologies. He even brought cookies!"

Santana scoffs from behind the door.

"Umm…" Brittany hesitates, "No, I mean, like, I don't think she's mad anymore. I don't think she's really feeling much of anything at the moment. But what I _do_ know is that she probably doesn't want to see you or Finn right now."

"Ugh, come on, Brittany. Give us a hand here and let us apologize to her in person. Finn needs his closure."

Rachel pushes on the door again trying to at least have a conversation by seeing more than just a third of Brittany's face. At the same moment, Santana takes a step forward but Brittany pushes her back against the door. No need for Rachel to see Santana in all her post-sex naked glory.

Rachel manages to push the door open enough to see Brittany's deshelved hair, twisted shirt, and unbuttoned jeans.

"Oh, Brittany. Your hair is a mess," Rachel bluntly states. "Were you sleeping too? Did I wake you?"

This time it's Brittany that rolls her eyes because Rachel needs to shut up already.

Finally, Rachel gets what she just interrupted. She covers her mouth with both her hands, "Oh my goodness golden stars, I am _so_ sorry! Were you guys…"

Brittany raises her eyebrows and purses her lips before giving an awkward smile and a slight nod.

"But I heard someone at the door after I knocked… I… thought… but where's Santana?"

Just as Brittany is about to speak, Santana has had enough and raises her voice from behind the door. "Fuck off, Berry! God! Can't you take a hint? Good luck trying to get me to forgive your beached whale of a boyfriend but now there is no way in all 20 hells I'm ever going to forgive you for this. Having to hear your voice after having a mind blowing orgasm is _not_ my idea of a treat, so Fuck. Off!"

Brittany looks over at the very angry Latina and strokes her arm. She turns back to look at Rachel who is completely frozen in her state of shock.

"So, I think you better go now," Brittany says slowly to Rachel while giving her a pitiful smile.

Rachel nods just slightly and Brittany slowly closes the door as Rachel starts stepping backwards away from the house.

Once the door is completely closed Brittany wraps her arms around her girlfriend. "I'm sorry," she chuckles.

"It's not funny, Britt," Santana says seriously as she stands naked and ridged.

"No, no it's not," Brittany starts, "but it kind of is." She starts giggling again. Santana tries to shove her back but Brittany only holds on tighter. "You should've seen Rachel's face when she heard your voice. I thought she was going to vomit she looked so scared."

Santana shakes her head against Brittany's shoulder.

"Anyway," Brittany says, "What do you say we go upstairs, get cleaned up a little bit and do a little snuggling? You still look completely drained."

"You drained me," Santana mumbles starting to feel her muscles relax again.

"I sure did," Brittany laughs as she gathers up the clothes off the floor and wraps Santana's shirt over her shoulders before going up the stairs and crawling into bed. Brittany strips down so she can snuggle up as close to Santana as possible and feeling their skin touching right now is incredibly calming. Santana falls asleep almost instantly and Brittany strokes her hair while daydreaming about the finished studio and running it the way she has always dreamed with her girlfriend by her side. .

* * *

 **2 Months Later…**

Santana and Brittany had decided to respond ' _yes_ ' to Hammer's Time pre-screening. The Shark Tank is almost finished renovating. All they have left to do is order in the equipment, put the signage in the window, set up the internet and hire a few instructors. Brittany already has a few in mind and she has a few interviews scheduled for the upcoming weeks. Sue has been great at communicating everything she needs to Brittany via text or e-mail and Brittany has already received the key to the place in which she can go in at any time to check up on the progress. They have yet to tell anyone about the new studio – except their families, Mercedes, and Quinn, since she agreed to work there under Brittany full time. Quinn still works at Sidekicks but only as a receptionist on the weekends. Quinn started officially dating Sam after a whole lot of courting on his part, but she finally agreed and things have been going great. She wants to stay in town during the weeks to spend more time with him, so working at the new Shark Tank will really help cut the commuting time in half.

"Wow," Santana says as she walks out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. She freezes when her girlfriend turns around to look at her.

Brittany is wearing a long yellow dress. Her hair is down but wavy. Her make up is done perfectly emphasizing her piercing blue eyes.

"Hey, you," Brittany says as she walks over to her frozen girlfriend and takes her hands. "How do I look?"

"Wow," is all Santana can say so she says it again.

"You said that already, silly," Brittany kisses Santana on the cheek. "Go get changed or we will be late."

Santana quickly goes to her closet and pulls out the dress she decided on last night. It's a form fitting long black dress with glitter throughout it. It has a plunging neckline that shows off just enough cleavage to tease.

"Babe, I need your help," Santana calls out to Brittany who is using the toilet one last time before they head to the theater.

Santana hears the toilet flush and the sink turn on for a few seconds before the door opens.

"What do you need help wi...ow." Brittany's eyes go big when she sees Santana in her dress. Her caramel skin silky and smooth and her breasts perky and supple.

"Umm, a little help here?" Santana repeats when Brittany isn't moving from her spot in front of the washroom door.

Brittany blinks a few times and shakes out her head, "Yeah, yeah, I got it." Brittany stands behind her girl and helps her zip up the back of the dress. The back is also quite low as well and Brittany can't help but want to kiss all the way from her shoulders down her back.

"All done?" Santana asks when Brittany's fingers linger on her back.

"Uhh, yeah, all done." Brittany takes a step back but can't take her eyes off her gorgeous girlfriend. Santana turns around and they look at each other. "Wow," Brittany says again.

"Wow yourself. You look hella sexy, Britt."

"You do too." Brittany takes a step forward to close the gap she had reluctantly created and wraps her arms around the slender waist.

Santana leans in and they give each other a soft, lingering kiss.

Just then, Santana's phone buzzes and she looks at the screen. "Limo is here," Santana tells Brittany. They both grab their purses and head out the room, down the stairs and they stop at the door after they put their shoes on. "Don't leave my side, okay?" Santana pleads while linking their hands together. "I don't want to give Puckerman a chance to talk to me. Him and his fucking arrogant, cocky-ass personality."

Apparently, Noah Puckerman has gotten a reputation as a lady's man after shooting a few other shows after Hammer's Time was filmed. He became even more conceited in the spotlight after he was named the next hottest star in People's Magazine. Girls were screaming his name from the other side of the block and he had probably slept with half of his fans.

* * *

The girls arrive at the theater 10 minutes to show time. That's just enough time for Brittany to go pee again and for Santana to grab them a bottle of water and a box of dots for Brittany. Unfortunately, Mike wasn't able to make it to the screening since he's still filming in L.A., but he promised to go watch it in theater with Brittany when he comes back… if the movie is any good. They walk hand in hand on the little red carpet laid out for this event. They hand over their invitational tickets to a man standing at the velvet ropes. They say hi to a few cast members and some people they had recognized from the set. They find two available seats on the right side of the bleachers just as the lights dim. The director, Artie, is holding a mic. He is thanking everyone for their hard work and hopes everyone had a good time filming it. There were cheers and applauds but Santana only rolls her eyes. The only time she had fun on set was when Brittany kicked Puckerman's ass. Artie announces that the film will start shortly and if anyone had any words to say before the lights dimmed. A few hands were raised and some people went up to say a few words about the editing process, the tireless days on set, the amazing choreography, which Brittany cheers extra loud for. Then the last guy steps up into the light and gets passed the mic. His hair has grown out slightly but he still wears that disgusting smirk on his face.

"Hi, Everyone! I'm sure most of you, if not all of you already know who I am so I won't bother with the introduction. I just want to thank everyone for their hard work. I want to thank Artie, Will, and Emma for helping me make it big. I wouldn't be living the life I am right now if it weren't for this movie. I wouldn't have gotten the other jobs I did had this not been on my resume. I know, I know it's not released yet, but to be in an Artie Abram's movie is all the credentials I need. I even overheard it might be up for a few awards… People's Choice awards for best kiss is one of the ones in the talks. Where is my lovely partner anyway? Is Santana Lopez in the house?"

People murmur and look around. "She's here!" Someone that Santana would love to punch in the neck yells out.

There are cheers and a round of applause begins. Brittany grips Santana's hand tighter, telling her to enjoy this moment. Santana only gives a weak smile and nods, acknowledging the appreciation.

"There's my girl! Best kiss for the win!" Puckerman says over the mic and pumps his fist in the air. There are more cheers in the crowd.

Santana shakes her head as Brittany soothes her with her thumb running up and down the back of her hand. Santana can't even smile when that slimeball is talking about her. She just can't.

Puck gives the mic back to Artie as he says a few closing words and takes his seat. The light dim and the movie starts. Santana lays her head on Brittany's shoulder. Brittany gives her a kiss on her forehead and then leans her own head against Santana. Here's hoping they can escape the theater without having to talk to anyone else. She knows it won't happen, but she can still hope, right?

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Constructive criticism? XOXO


	43. Chapter 41

AN: Merry Christmas everyone! I was hoping to get this chapter out on Christmas Day but family duties called and my hands were too full. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

When the lights turn on again, Santana grabs her purse and is ready to leave the auditorium when Artie comes on the mic again. She sighs and sits back down. He takes questions from the audience and tells them that they may still need to tweak some parts where the sound was just a bit off and that the movie will be released to the public in a couple of weeks. When they were finally allowed to leave, the girls make their way to the door. Brittany has to go to the washroom again because of all the water she drank. The dots had made her so thirsty. Santana decides to go with her.

As she's waiting for her girlfriend outside, Santana is checking her texts she had received from Mercedes about another audition. She tells her friend to text her the information and that she will be there if she really thinks she's right for the part.

"How's the leading lady?"

Santana knows the voice and doesn't bother looking up from her phone. _Where the fuck is Brittany?_ Is all that is going through her head.

"I tried calling you," Puck half whispers into her ear. She takes a step away and rubs her ear against her shoulder to get Puckerman's breath off of her. "Did you change your number?" he asks.

Damn this man is persistent. "No, I blocked you. Can you please stop talking to me now?"

"Oh come on, Lopez. It's been so long. Why can't you give me another chance? I'm a changed man and an excellent lover. Please, I really like you," he begs.

"She politely asked for you to stop talking to her." A voice comes from behind Santana and she quickly looks up to see Brittany walking up to them. Stopping when she's standing next to her; her shoulders back and her head slightly tilted with a look of irritation on her face.

"You… you're the stunt girl," Puck says. "Hurt anyone lately?" he chuckles.

Brittany doesn't say anything. She just smiles at him telling him with her eyes _yes_ and not to fuck with her.

"Britt, let's go," Santana interrupts the staring contest. She links her hand with Brittany's and walks off. Walking past Puck.

His eyes widen at the sight. "Lesbians… Any chance I can get an in on the action?"

"Fuck off, Puckerman!" Santana turns her head to say but continues walking away with Brittany's hand linked tightly to hers.

"What kind of sex can lesbians have anyway? You need a piece of the Puckster in you to get any party goin' and trust me, I know where all the right spots are. Come on, girls. You're sexy as hell, and shit, come on, look at me, so am I." The girls ignore him, so he continues to be a nuisance. "Santana, geez, stop for a moment will you? You owe me for practically shattering my nose."

Puck makes the mistake of running up to the girls and putting his hand on Santana's shoulder to turn her around. At the exact moment of contact he hears someone say "Don't fucking touch her" and feels hard pressure hit him on the chest right below his neck. Then out of nowhere a fist comes flying across and he is not fast enough to move out of the way and it hits him square in the eye. There are a bunch of gasps and 'oooh's' from the people lingering around. He is walking backwards cupping his left eye when he backs into a wall. Suddenly a forearm rests forcefully against his neck. He never realized how tall this girl was and it doesn't help that they're the same height when she wears heels. She leans in and puts even more pressure against his throat; cutting off most of his airway.

"Don't ever fucking touch her again! Do you fucking hear me? Don't fucking touch her, don't fucking talk to her. Leave my girlfriend alone or I will kick your ass for the last time because you aint gonna wake up from it next time."

Puck is too shocked to move. Besides, he can't really move anyway. He is having a hard time breathing. The girl is stronger than he could have ever imagined.

She pushes against his throat again to get his attention, "Do you understand?" Puck nods slightly but it didn't seem enough for Brittany. She slams a fist against the wall right next to his face. His eyes clench tightly and he flinches at the sound of a rock hard fist slamming against a thick wooden wall. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" She asks for the last time and pushes her entire weight against her forearm that is leaning on his throat.

Puck nods his head once again and squeaks out "Yes, yes, I understand," as loudly as possible considering his restricted airway.

Brittany lets him go as he struggles to breathe. Before she walks back to Santana she looks around the theater for a few people in particular when she sees Artie and Will she shakes her head at them, "You guys knew he was a predator and you let him go. Not only did you let him go but you defended him. You let him get his way because he was what, an up and coming star? Well, once your ' _star'_ lands himself in prison for sexual harassment or possibly even rape, I will be sure that your names come up as the two men who turned a blind eye."

Artie and Will's jaw drops. Brittany points a finger at both men before walking towards the exit. Santana follows Brittany as they approach the tinted glass doors. Standing right by the door is a young man in his late teens that played a small part of the movie. His eyes were on the girls and his mouth was partially open. Brittany reaches out to open the door but the young man pushes it out hard enough to open it for her with a look of fear but also admiration.

Santana thanks the boy for the both of them. Photos are being taken of the girls as they leave the screening. Luckily, no photographers caught the little act of rage Brittany had since the windows were tinted and there were security guards surrounding the theater. The only photos the paps are able to take are the ones of the guests as they leave the theater or are standing outside for a smoke or something. Their limo driver is waving them down and they get into back.

"Where to miss?" The chauffer asks through the rear view mirror.

Santana is about to say home but she looks at Brittany. Her face is still stone walled, her ears are red with anger, her eyes are focused on nothing, and her lips her so tight she doesn't feel like she can relax them even with a kiss.

"Just drive around town for a bit, please," Santana instructs.

The man nods and pulls out from the curb. Santana presses a button to put up the privacy screen.

She slowly grabs Brittany's hand and slides up next to her. She leans her chin on the taller girl's shoulder and tries her best to be as close to her girlfriend as possible without smothering her.

"You okay?" Santana asks quietly after a few moments of silence.

Santana can see Brittany think about that for a moment before nodding. Santana keeps her head on Brittany's shoulder as they drive around town in silence. Up and down the quiet streets. A few people lining up to get into clubs, groups of friends saying goodbye at an intersection, a couple eating a pizza in front of convenience store. Movement shifts Santana's focus back to the limo, back to Brittany. Brittany is breathing funny. Her face is turned slightly towards the window on her side so Santana is unable to see her face.

"Britt?" Santana almost whispers.

Brittany sniffs and lets out a little cough.

"Brittany?" Santana is confused. Brittany's movement causes Santana to sit upright to see what's going on. "Oh my God, Brittany. Brittany, baby. What's wrong?"

Brittany shakes her head and drops her head down into her hands. She has been caught crying and now she's just going to let it all out.

"Brittany. Oh baby, shhh… … I'm here. I'm here," Santana tries to comfort her girlfriend while trying to hide her confusion. She hugs her from the side as best she can and rubs her hand up and down Brittany's back to soothe her.

Brittany cries harder for a moment before she's able to calm down. Eventually, her shaking stops and she just sniffles; rubbing her eyes to stop the tears.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Santana says as she brushes some blonde hair away from Brittany's face. "Can you do that?"

Brittany lifts her face away from her hands and stares at Santana's lap, "I think I'm tired."

"I've seen you tired before Brittany, and you don't do this when you're tired."

"Yeah, I know. I mean, can we go home?"

Santana nods and pushes a button that opens the privacy screen. She asks the driver to take them home. Again, he nods.

They sit the rest of the way in silence. Santana anxious to know what happened with Brittany.

Once they get home, Santana takes Brittany by the hand and leads her to the couch. Brittany takes a seat and Santana goes to the kitchen to feel Lord Tubbington who has been patiently waiting for his food since they entered the house. Finally, Santana takes a seat waits for Brittany to open up.

Brittany is staring at the blank television and Santana is staring at the coffee table while taking subtle glances at Brittany. Suddenly, Brittany turns her body to face Santana, gently places her hand on Santana's neck and pulls her into what Santana can only describe as the most gentle and romantic kiss she has ever had. She eagerly kisses back. They kiss slowly and softly for moments Santana believes is a little taste of heaven, but then she remembers Brittany still needs to explain why she broke down in the limo. Santana breaks the kiss and when Brittany continues to move forward, Santana backs off.

"Okay. Okay, Britt. Can you please tell me what happened? You're really worrying me right now."

Brittany relaxes into her seat and takes a deep breath. "You have no idea how much I admire you right now. How amazing and beautiful you are. How strong and brave you are."

"What do you mean? Why now? You're the one that saved me from that awful piece of shit. You're the one that stood up for me to Artie and Will, and called them out on what they did… or didn't do."

"But you're the one that had to go through it all," Brittany says while looking into Santana's eyes. "You're the one that was strong enough to stop him. To walk away. To – to push it to the back of your memory even though that mother fucker constantly put his dirty, grimy hands on you. He tried to…" Another tear rolled down Brittany's cheek but she quickly brushed it away before it fell too far. "He tried to touch you… he… he deserves much worse that what I gave him today." Brittany clenches her jaw and grips the couch cushion. She takes in a breath and Santana knows she has more to say so she stays silent to let her continue. "You went through a lot of shit with him and you had to go through most of that alone… I – should've been there for you more… He – he could've done more horrible things if you weren't able to fight him off. I'm sorry. I'm rambling… I don't know how I feel. I just feel like I need to do more. God, I hate him. I hate him so much, Santana. Just seeing him today… knowing what he has done. Seeing his smug face thinking that he has a chance with you, with me standing RIGHT THERE! If there weren't so many people there today…" Brittany trails off while shaking her head and biting her bottom lip.

"Hey," Santana says and Brittany looks up at her. "You did a lot more than you think you did. You held me when I needed you most. You made me feel protected. You taught me how to defend myself. I know you hate him. I hate him too, but I don't think he will try anything again after that. He looked scared as fuck," Santana smiles at the memory, but Brittany isn't smiling. Something else is wrong and Santana can feel it. "Is there anything else?"

"No, not really," Brittany mumbles. "I don't think so… I just…"

Brittany shifts her weight about to stand and opens her mouth to speak but Santana interrupts when something finally clicks in her head and she knows exactly what was on Brittany's mind.

"Don't, Britt," Santana says as she holds onto Brittany's wrist.

"What?"

"Don't do it. You don't have to."

"Don't do what?"

Santana rolls her eyes, "Let's just take a shower and I want you to hold me so I can fall asleep in your arms."

Brittany hesitates because Santana was right on the money about what Brittany was going to do and taking a showering and holding Santana was one of the few ways to stop Brittany from doing just that.

"Come on." Santana stands up and holds her hand out for Brittany to take. Brittany looks at the front door then at Santana's hand. She huffs and takes it. Santana pulls her up and they walk upstairs to take a long hot shower together. They are both so mentally and physically drained from the evening's events that although they left a few kisses over each other's bodies and lips, they didn't have the energy to have shower sex the way they usually do.

They cuddle up in bed. Brittany is lying on her back and Santana has her arms wrapped around her lady knight in shining armour; her head resting on her chest. Brittany has one arm around her body and the other one stroking Santana's arm up and down.

"You're still thinking about it?" Santana asks.

"A little bit," Brittany says tiredly. "But a lot less than before."

"Good."

"How did you know?" Brittany asks in almost a whisper.

Santana smiles. Proud of herself that she could read Brittany so well. "Because I know you, Brittany S. Pierce. And I know that you're protective of me. I know how you get when you're angry. I know that if I had let you walk out of the house just now that Puckerman would probably be seriously injured or in a coma and you would probably wind up in jail. And Britt?"

"Hm?" Brittany hums with feelings of exhaustion and relaxation taking over.

"I may have played a lawyer on the big screen, but I wouldn't know how to get you out of a real attempted murder conviction."

Santana can feel Brittany chuckle through her chest.

"True story," Brittany mumbles.

"Plus, if you were in jail, I wouldn't be able to do this." Santana leans up and gives Brittany a soft kiss on the lips. Brittany doesn't hesitate to kiss back.

"Mmm, you're right. I wouldn't want to risk not being able to do that," Brittany almost mumbles.

"Relaxed now?" Santana asks in a full whisper.

She feels Brittany nod.

"Goodnight, Britt."

"G'night, San. I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

The next morning, Santana wakes up to coldness on her left side. Her eyes slowly open and see that Brittany's side is empty. Considering how cold it is, it has been empty for a while. Santana throws her face into Brittany's pillow and is about to fall back asleep when she remembers why they went to bed so early last night. Her eyes shoot open and she rips the blanket off of her. She runs out the bedroom and down the stairs. Brittany isn't there. She looks in the kitchen. No Brittany. Only Lord T munching on a half bowl of kitty mix. Brittany's purse is still here but her shoes are gone.

"Fuck!" Santana says and runs back up the stairs to grab her phone. She dials Brittany's number but she doesn't answer. She texts and calls again. Santana considers going out to look for her but she would have no idea where to start.

Suddenly she hears the lock on the front door rattle and she runs back down the stairs. The door opens and there's Brittany. Sweating. Panting.

The girls make eye contact and Brittany looks shocked to see Santana awake. Santana is shocked to see Brittany so out of breath and there's something on her cheek. Santana steps closer. It's red streak that starts from her cheek bone and smudges all the way to her temple.

"Oh my God, Brittany. What did you do?" Santana runs towards her and looks at the red streak on Brittany's face.

"What?" Brittany wipes her face with the back of her hand. "Oh."

"Brittany? Why the fuck is there blood on your face? What did you do? Please don't tell me you went to go see Puck in the middle of the night."

Brittany raised her eyebrows at that comment then she shrugs. "I killed him," she says as the makes her way casually to the kitchen too wash the blood off her left cheek.

Santana's heart goes into overdrive. She's dating a murderer? What has Brittany done? Brittany can't go to jail.

"Brittany? I'm scared. You're scaring me. Did you… did you really," Santana hesitantly walks towards the kitchen.

"Oh gosh, Santana, did you really believe that? Of course not!" Brittany walks towards the brunette as she wipes her hand with the kitchen towel.

"But, the blood. And you left early… and…"

Brittany holds Santana gently by the shoulder and kisses her forehead. "I went for a jog. I woke up from a bad dream and decided it was bright enough outside to go for a jog. There was a lady walking a totally cute puppy and I couldn't stop looking at it bounce around. I almost ran into a tree but I stuck my arm out at the last moment so my face wouldn't collide with the trunk. I must have scraped my arm but not notice it – you know how I am with minor injuries. I hardly feel them." Santana nods so Brittany continues. "I felt a drip of sweat just hanging by my temple not quite falling and just dangling there so I wiped it away. I guess with this arm." Brittany raises her arm and there the cut was. It was about an inch long and the smudged with dark blood that had long since dried. "I'm sorry I scared you. I was joking and I thought it would be funny to see your reaction. I guess it wasn't so funny," Brittany pouts.

Santana glare at her and shakes her head, "No it wasn't"

"Santana, you should know I am not actually capable of killing anyone right? Although at times I wish I was."

Santana sighs and hugs Brittany tightly. "I know. I'm sorry."

"I'm not a monster."

"You're not."

"San?"

"Hm?" Santana hugs tighter and basks in the warmth that is Brittany Pierce.

"Can I shower?"

"No. You're warm."

"Well, I'm gross and I need to shower. Why don't you join me so we can be warm together?"

Santana looks up at the light blue eyes and it makes her smile. The girls make their way up the stairs to take a shower. Since Brittany had just finished jogging, her adrenaline was still running so it was without a doubt the perfect time to have the missed shower sex from the night before.

* * *

 _1 week later_

Santana went to the audition Mercedes had texted her about but unfortunately did not get the part. It was fine though, it happens. No matter how talented or how perfect for the part you or the people around you think you are, the casting director may already have someone else in mind. Santana was somewhat glad she didn't get the part since The Shark Tank will have its grand opening in a couple of weeks and if Santana were to be filming she would have to go to Seattle or Vancouver to shoot the film and she's not ready to be so far away from Brittany during such an important time in her girlfriend's life. During the week, the girls received a letter from Artie apologizing about everything that had happened while shooting the film and during the screening. He promised that Noah Puckerman will no longer star in any of his upcoming projects because of the liability he is sure to have with the way Puckerman behaves. Enclosed with his letter was a $500 gift card to an extremely fancy restaurant that he told the girls to have a night out with.

Brittany was busy getting everything organized and perfect for the grand opening. She moved kicking pads and weights around religiously trying to find the perfect spot for them. She called Quinn more than 3 times to remind her to be there for opening day. She was still on the lookout for the perfect instructors and was a little bit panicked when no one seemed to fit her standards.

"Fuck!" Brittany slams the office phone down triggering Santana to look up from filling the mini fridge with water bottles. "No one in this fucking town is qualified to teach! Why is everyone so incompetent?" Brittany runs her hand over her face.

"Brittany," Santana says as she walks up to her girl to massage her shoulders from behind the office chair. "Do you think, maybe, you're being a little bit picky? I mean, I'm sure Sue didn't just hire the best – sure, she lucked out with you – but I'm positive not everyone was the best. They had to learn from experience and from training under you and Sue. You can't expect them to know everything as soon as they walk through those doors."

Brittany sighs and sinks further into the chair. "Santana, the guy I just got off the phone with told me that he learned to burn calories with vigorous slapping motions. How the hell am I supposed to hold a class with vigorous slapping motions?"

Santana had to hold in a snort. The dude sounded pretty ridiculous.

Just then the office phone rings and Brittany answers in a defeated tone.

"Good afternoon, The Shark Tank, Brittany speaking."

After a few moments on the phone Brittany hangs up with a sigh.

"Who was that?" Santana asks as she sits on the corner of Brittany's desk and crosses her legs.

"That was Quinn. She said she had a few people interested in being instructors here, but honestly, I don't even think that's possible."

"Who are they and when are the interviews?"

"She said she's with them now at the coffee shop just around the corner," Brittany sighs as she organizes some papers on her desk. "If only Sue was here to do the hiring, she knew exactly what she was doing. I feel like I've interviewed almost every single martial artist in this town."

Santana looks up when she sees a shadow by the main doors and she smiles at the group of people about to enter. "Hey, you never know who might surprise you…"

* * *

Thank you for your great feedback on a sequel. Comment? Review? Constructive Criticism?


	44. Chapter 42

AN: Happy New Year to all my amazing readings. Thank you for keeping me going. Damn I've been at this story for a while... but anyway... I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

* * *

"Who's holding the interviews for Shark Tank instructors?" A familiar voices flows through the spacious room.

Brittany looks up from the stack of papers in her hand and her eyes widen instantly. Her jaw drops open and her lips begin to slowly turn upward. She looks over to Santana who is at the same time looking back at her with her bottom lip tucked between her teeth and a smile that reaches her eyes.

"Oh my God!" Brittany jumps from behind the desk, runs around it and towards her group of friends and old co-workers. "Mike! Ashley! Nessa! What are you guys doing here? Quinn? What are they doing here?" Brittany can't help but bounce on the balls of her feet.

"I brought some people who were interested in teaching here!" Quinn says with a smile and takes a step back so the three instructors can chat with Brittany.

Brittany turns to face the Asian man first, "Mike, I thought you were..." Then she turns to the shorter brunette, "Ashley, oh my god, I didn't think you would…" Then looks over to the taller brunette, "Nessa! I haven't heard from you in..." Brittany turns to Santana who is still sitting on the corner of the desk looking cheerfully and proudly at all the support her girlfriend is getting. "Santana! Look! Look who came!"

This causes Santana to chuckle, "Yes, Brittany. I see them. Are you going to finish your conversations with them?"

Brittany looks back at the three who are still smiling at her overwhelming excitement. She takes in a deep breath and exhales in order to calm herself down.

"You all want to be instructors here?" she asks.

They nod.

"Mike, don't you have to be in L.A. to film and stuff?"

Mike nods again, "Sometimes. Like you did when you were working for Sue. I'll be here regularly until a gig comes up and I have to leave for a while to shoot. But I will always be back to help you out, if you're okay with that."

"Yes! Of course, I'm okay with that. Thank you so much for helping me," Brittany says and quickly pulls Mike in for a hug.

"My pleasure, Brittany."

"Ashley! Wow! But wait aren't you with… is this okay for you? I thought you were still with Jerkfa… uh… Kenneth."

"Nope. Nope. I actually left a while ago. I was trying to sort my shit out and I needed a break from everything. He was not a good guy but I wasn't sure what our relationship had become. Kenneth kind of said some things to me about you and he made me think that you didn't want anything to do with any of us anymore… including me. He was a jerk and incredibly difficult to work with. I'm glad I got out of there when I did. I'm just sorry about what he did to _you._ Quinn told me all about it, it was pretty low."

Brittany nods, "Well, these things happen for a reason right? And now I have all of you! I promise I will treat you better than he ever did. And Nessa, oh wow. My partner in crime back in the day. How did Quinn even find you?"

Nessa, the taller brunette was a couple inches taller than Brittany. She was quite muscular and was known to have rapid fire punches. She and Brittany had trained together for years when they were younger but their busy schedules kept them apart when Nessa had to move away for school. They tried to keep in touch but ended up losing contact when Brittany went to L.A. to do her first movie shoot and lost her phone.

"Well," Nessa looked over at Quinn. "I'm friends with Sam. I met Quinn one day when Sam and I bumped into each other at the gym and Quinn had decided to tag along. We talked for a while about working out and gyms and I mentioned a training buddy I used to have that I thought was the best motivator ever. I told her I wanted to get back into it but didn't know of any good training studios, that's when Quinn brought you up and the rest is history." Nessa says with a smile. Brittany leaps at her and hugs her tightly.

After a long hug with Nessa, Brittany looks at Quinn standing at the back of the group with her arms crossed over her chest and a satisfied smile on her face. Brittany walks up to her and pulls her in for a super tight hug.

"Thank you," She whispers into Quinn's ear. "Thank you so much."

"No problem, Britt."

They all talk for a while longer and Brittany finds out everyone's schedule and tries to fit everyone with equal hours and reasonable pay. They end up going to the restaurant next door for a bite to eat with Brittany treating everyone as a thank you for their help and support. She also finds out that Nessa's boyfriend is also a certified fitness instructor and would love to work part-time for her in the evenings. Brittany was more than happy to meet with him on the weekend to discuss the details.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm going to be a co-owner of The Shark Tank soon. Me! Holy fuck!" Brittany says as she throws her purse onto the couch after walking in through the doors.

Santana laughs and follows behind her. "I'm so proud of you, Britt. Really, you deserve something good after all you've been through."

Brittany turns around and put her hands on both sides of Santana's hip, "I do have something good, I have you." Brittany gives Santana a kiss on the lips.

The girls give each other short playful kisses while Santana's left hand tickles the back of Brittany's neck. Just when they begin to deepen the kiss, something nudges against Santana's leg. She tries to move away from it and continue kissing but with that thing constantly bumping into her leg, it's very distracting. Finally she breaks the kiss to look down and sees Lord Tubbington walking circles and rubbing his body against her.

"I guess someone else wants in on the cuddles," Brittany chuckles and picks up the chubby cat.

"Cuddling was supposed to come afterwards." Santana rolls her eyes.

"And what was supposed to come before?" Brittany raises her brow seductively at Santana before nuzzling her face with her fury friend.

"It's not a what but more of a _who_ and that 'who' was supposed to be you…" Santana says as she slips behind Brittany and slowly slides her hand down the front Brittany's gym pants but staying on top of the panties.

Santana feels Brittany's breath hitch as she ever so lightly runs her fingers up and down Brittany's mound.

"Well…" Brittany whispers while holding Lord Tubbington close to her face, "Looks like I'm not the only one who is playing with a pussy," Brittany says as she tries to beat Santana in this game and tries to keep her cool but she is clearly failing. Failing hard.

"Who are you talking to?" Santana asks, not stopping her motions as she talks into the back of Brittany's neck.

"I'm not even sure anymore…" Brittany trails off as her fingers unconsciously stroke the cat's fur a little harder trying to compensate for Santana's lack of pressure.

"Well, you can play with the pussy in your hands and I'll play with the one in mine," Santana kisses her neck and ever so gently pulls up and away from the panties only to slip down under them and stroke the smooth lips between Brittany's legs.

Lord Tubbington has his face snuggled in Brittany's neck as he begins to fall asleep from Brittany's constant stroking.

"Lord T really shouldn't be witnessing this…" Brittany breathes out. Feeling guilty that her cat is literally in her arms as Santana runs her fingers through her folds but at the same time she can't seem to move or pull away.

"Then stop me," Santana uses her deep, raspy voice she knows sends shivers down Brittany's back and through her core. She knows it when Brittany clenches her thighs together trying to release some of the pressure Santana is not helping with.

Brittany's body is beginning to heat up and her breathing has picked up as well. "I…" Brittany tries to argue.

"Hm?" Santana questions as she slowly dips her finger into Brittany's wet center as deep as she can before pulling it back out and continuing to run her fingers gently through her folds once again.

Brittany moans at the brief pleasure.

Lord Tubbington raises his head to look at the person who made the noise.

"You stopped playing with your pussy, should I stop playing with mine?" Santana teases when she notices that Brittany has not been stroking the cat's back for a while and stops all movements with her own hand.

"No," Brittany whispers. Completely in her Santana haze. She hardly knows what's happening. "San?" Brittany manages to clear her mind a bit when there is no more movement between her legs.

"Yes, baby?"

"Can I just… can we…" Brittany shakes out her head and holds on to Santana's wrist, keeping it between her legs so she can't remove it and leans down just slightly to put Lord T down onto the floor. "I'm sorry Tubbs, I just can't right now."

The cat doesn't seem to give two shits and waddles off into the kitchen to treat himself to some left over kitty snacks.

Brittany straightens her back and turns her head to face the smirking brunette behind her. She reaches back and grips at the back of Santana's hair and pulls her in for a deep kiss. She lets go of Santana's arm giving her the signal to continue. Santana slowly starts her motion again and Brittany moans into her mouth. Santana takes small steps forward walking them towards the couch. Brittany rests her left hand on the back cushion as Santana slowly enters her girlfriend. With her free hand, Santana pulls down the sides of Brittany's pants while continuing her slow thrusts with the other. She pulls them down until she can't reach anymore and Brittany does what she can to release one leg completely so she can spread herself a little wider.

Santana's fingers are now free to do as she pleases without restriction and begins to pump a little harder and a little faster.

"Uh, yes. Just like that, babe. Yes," Brittany moans out.

Santana slides her free hand down Brittany's arm until their fingers can intertwine. Brittany grips tightly to Santana's fingers, feeling the incredible connection between them. Santana continues to pump while grazing at Brittany's hard nub whenever she can with her palm sending shivers up Brittany's body.

Brittany arches back and shoves her face into Santana's neck. Breathing in the delicious scent and moaning against her.

Santana's forearms are burning, this position is much more difficult than she expected but she can't stop now. Her girlfriend is enjoying it too much and there is no way she's going to stop just because her forearm hurts, besides, seeing Brittany this way is fucking hot. If anything, this is giving her a great workout. She knows she's sweating and she knows Brittany is too. She can see it fall from her temple. She turns to give Brittany a kiss on the cheek. Brittany's mouth is slightly open so she can breathe but she manages to create a smile for her.

"You're so fucking hot," Santana whispers honestly. "I love you so much."

Brittany is unable to respond even though she really wants to. She feels her whole body start to tingle and her head falls forward onto the top of her arm that is currently propping her up against the side of the couch. Santana goes ahead and leans on Brittany's back speeding up her thrusts.

"Oh God," Brittany all but screams. She grips tightly at whatever she can. She can sense what is coming and it's her. She's about to come hard and she's about to come soon. She grips at the couch cushion. She grips onto Santana's fingers with her other hand. Santana continues to bang her palm and rubbing it upwards as she continues to enter Brittany in quick motions. "Shit, San. Oh, San…tana…" Her body freezes as wave after wave of electricity shoots through her.

Finally, after moments, she breathes again and Santana brings her down from her high. She lifts her head off her forearm only to see a wet sweaty patch. Santana pulls out and rests her own head on Brittany's back. She strokes her thumb against Brittany's to calm themselves; both of them catching their breaths.

"I guess this is why people are usually naked when they have sex, huh?" Brittany finally says, breaking the silence when she straightens up and looks over at Santana's sweaty face. "We're all sweaty and now our clothes are wet."

Santana lifts her left hand up and both of them look at it. "That's not all that's wet," She says as she rotates her hand – Brittany's sticky juices covering her fingers.

"Ugh, shut up."

Santana chuckles, "Aw, you know I love it, babe."

Brittany raises a single brow when she turns to face her girlfriend, "You can't tell me that if I do this," Brittany releases their entwined fingers and cups Santana's crotch causing the girl to gasp and close her eyes slightly at the delicious sensitivity going on between her legs, "that you're not just as wet." Brittany wiggles her fingers a little bit, "Mmm… and from what I feel, these panties definitely need to be washed."

"I think _we_ need to be washed," Santana says through her arousal. "Shower time?"

"Absolutely," Brittany says as she leans in to give Santana another kiss. She rubs her crotch just one more time for fun, making Santana moan before forcing themselves to go up the stairs and into the bedroom where they quickly strip down. Brittany walks up to Santana and is about to touch her when Santana stops her and steps back.

"What?" Brittany asks completely confused. She thought this is what Santana wanted too.

"This pussy and the one downstairs don't mix. Wash your hands please; you were stroking a whole different pussy earlier."

Brittany blushes at her forgetfulness. They make their way to the bathroom as Brittany washes her hands but unfortunately, the shower has to wait as Brittany couldn't seem to keep her clean hands to herself before starting the shower. There was no way she could wait with a very naked Santana standing right next to her. So instead, they did it on the washroom counter.

* * *

 **Two months later…**

Brittany's grand opening was a huge success. Santana called in her favour from The Lima Liner's newest top reporter, Connor Cuder. After Brittany's last interview got cut short by Kenneth's insistent blabbering and constant need to flaunt himself, Connor had promised Santana he would give Brittany another interview. Now that Connor is a regular reporter at The Lima Liner, Brittany got a much bigger spread in the paper accompanied with much more than one tiny photo. There was a close up of her, a close up of Sue, a photo of the studio – inside and out, a group photo of the staff, a couple of action shots Brittany usually uses for her stunt interviews, as well as a provisional schedule of the programs offered at The Shark Tank.

With a huge layout like that in Lima's only newspaper, everyone flocked over to see what the fuss was about. New faces came through, eager to learn from the best, and familiar faces came in with smiles, excited that Brittany is back in the scene. Classes started smoothly, with no more than a few bumps in the road that were easy fixes for Brittany and Sue. Santana helped out as much as she could as well as took a few classes with the different instructors so Brittany could get an evaluation from a non-professional point of view. She held monthly meetings with the instructors to fix anything issues they were having, which worked out great for everyone who wanted to voice any concerns. Quinn had a hard time managing all the memberships people were purchasing that Santana had to step in a few times to help out. Brittany tried her best to accommodate everyone, both instructors and members to help suit everybody's schedule. Brittany was teaching 6 days out of the week and if she wasn't working with gloves, she was working at the desk doing paperwork and communicating with Sue. New equipment were still constantly coming in, so Brittany had to sign for it, make sure they were in proper working order and then copy all the receipts to Sue so they both had a copy of the expenses. They were quickly running low on apparel and Brittany was starting to get overwhelmed by the speed everything was going that one day she had a breakdown at the kitchen table during their dinner of mac n' cheese over whether she should order more blue tank tops or red shorts. After calming her down with long hugs and kisses, Santana took over the job of contacting the suppliers for payment and shipments.

When everything was beginning to settle down and move smoothly, Brittany finally had time to take Santana out for dinner to thank her for all her help and for putting up with all the craziness that has been happening around them.

"Cheers!" The girls both say as they clink their glasses of white together over a beautifully set little table overlooking the city. It is a busy restaurant but the tables were spread far enough away from each other that it was quiet enough for them to hold a proper conversation without yelling at each other.

Santana is wearing sparkly navy blue dress with the necklace Brittany gave her displayed prominently on her chest. She never takes the necklace off but for some reason it's shining much brighter today. Her hair is down, swiped to one side and curled at the bottom.

Brittany is wearing a beige flowy dress with a matching choker, and the ring Santana gave her on opening day sat beautifully on her middle finger. The ring was just a little congratulatory gift for Brittany, along with the photo frame and picture they took at Disneyland that Santana had tried her best to hide for a special occasion which now sits on Brittany's office desk inside the studio. The ring is a simple black band with a single red stripe that has _The Shark Tank_ engraved on the inside and the date of the grand opening. Brittany was trembling when she noticed a ring attached to the photo frame. Her heart was pounding and her palms had begun to sweat profusely thinking it was something else. She felt excited and extremely nervous until she noticed the colour and the inscription inside. She let out a breath of relief but at the same time a slight feeling of disappointment.

' _You don't like it?'_ Santana had asked her when she showed just a split second of disappointment. Explaining to Santana that she was just in shock and that she loved the gift and bringing her in for a deep, deep kiss really convinced Santana of the truth – that she really did love it and that it was the perfect gift.

Now, as they are sitting across from each other sipping on Chardonnay, Brittany is able to finally show her appreciation for everything Santana has done.

"I don't know what I would have done without you. You're my rock, Santana Lopez."

Santana blushes and looks down at her bread. "I just want to be there for you however I can. I know how important this is to you and I can't wait for everyone to see how amazing you are."

"Only because I have an amazing girlfriend. I love you… I love you with everything that I am." Brittany gives a tight lipped smile as she looks Santana in the eyes.

Santana nods, "I love you too, baby."

They share a light kiss and continue on with their dinner. Brittany tries her best not to bring her work everywhere with her so she tries her best not to talk about The Tank anymore for the rest of the day. She just wants to spend some quality time with her girlfriend.

* * *

 _Ring…_

 _Ring…_

"Good afternoon, Shark Tank Martial Arts and Fitness Studio, how may I help you?" Quinn answers the phone.

A woman speaks, "H _ello, I have some questions about your fitness studio. Is this the owner I am speaking to?"_

Quinn finds that an odd question but answers anyway, "Um, no, I'm not the owner. Did you have some concerns with us recently? I will do my best to resolve any problems you may have encountered. I understand that our website still has some registration glitches that we are trying to iron out, but I can definitely handle any of those issues over the phone with you."

" _Oh, no, nothing like that at all, I just had a few questions about your programs."_

"I can absolutely answer those questions for you Miss. What programs are you looking into?"

" _Thank you… umm, how should I address you?"_

"My name is Quinn."

There is silence on the other line. Quinn checks to see if they are still connected and she sees that the time is still running on the phone. She's just about to speak when the woman begins again.

" _Quinn, is it? Well, thank you for your assistance but I would much rather talk to the owner about this."_

Quinn raises an eyebrow at that question but looks around anyway and sees Brittany sitting at the tiny office they built for her in a little indent at the corner of the studio. It's just enough space for a small desk, 2 chairs, and a cabinet for important documents. Originally, Brittany did not want to be in an office because she feels like it's too snobby of her to have one, but Santana and Sue both agreed that some items need to be locked up and that there should be a quiet space in case clients need to speak in private or if Brittany needs to make any phone calls. She agreed only if she had big windows where she could look into the studio. She would have blinds of course but majority of the time she had them open so make her seem more welcoming and more often than not, her door was open.

"One moment please and who may I ask is calling?" Quinn asks.

There seems to be slight hesitation but the caller responds, "Helen Smitte."

"One moment, Helen," Quinn says into the receiver before getting up from her desk and walking towards Brittany's. She knocks on her door and Brittany looks up with a smile. Quinn motions that she has a phone call and tells her it's Helen on line one.

Brittany picks up the phone and Quinn turns to leave.

"This is Brittany, how may I help you?"

 _"_ _Hello Brittany I just had a few questions about your studio if you don't mind."_

"I don't mind. What questions can I answer for you?" Brittany asks as she copies down the invoice numbers of her last order of hand wraps and water bottles.

 _"_ _How many instructors do you have?"_

Brittany is taken aback with the question and puts her pen down so she can really listen carefully to this lady. "I have about six, depending on availability."

" _And how many students would you say average in each class?"_

"I… I'm not sure. It really varies each day."

 _"_ _Just an average, if you please."_

"In all honesty, Helen, I really can't answer your question. It can range from 20 on a good day to 2 on a quiet weekday afternoon. It's really hard to give you an answer. Also, may I ask why are you asking these questions?"

 _"_ _Oh, I – I just wanted to know because… I wanted to make sure there is always room for me to do drop ins in case I wanted to drop in for a class. You see, I live further away and sometimes I'm in the area and would like to drop in on a class or two."_

Brittany feels skeptical about this but answers as professionally as possible. "Well, if you ever have any doubts, I would say give us a call and check in with us to see what classes we are offering that day and if we have any openings for drop ins. Usually we do, so I don't think you have much to worry about."

" _One last question, if I may Brittany. Do any of your members compete in competitions?"_

"Umm… no. Not at the moment. We are still quite new. Some of our instructors had in the past, but no one at the moment, no. Are you interested in competing?"

" _No, no. I was just wondering… for a friend, but that's good to know. Thank you very much for your time and I hope to visit your studio soon."_

"Thank you for your interest in our studio, we hope to see you soon as well."

Brittany hangs up the phone and scratches her head. She wonders if that was a weird phone call or if it was just her taking everything too seriously. She tries to shrug it off and finishes her paperwork before she goes to the back to change into her work out gear to teach the next two classes.

* * *

Santana joins in after meeting up with Mercedes to talk about another audition. However, Santana turns it down because she refused to do a nude sex scene with a large body builder.

Santana walks in with her sports bag and goes into the locker room. She changes and takes her bag into Brittany's office to put in her own personal locker since she always seems to forget to bring a lock. Besides, Brittany allowed Santana to leave her gloves in her locker so she doesn't have to lug it around.

When the class is finished, Santana takes a sip of her water and walks over to Quinn to chat a little bit while Brittany is answering questions from the members. When the floor is cleared and Quinn goes to wiping down the mats with a sanitizer mop, Santana follows Brittany into her office to gather their clean clothes and make their way to the locker room.

"What's up?" Santana asks as soon as they enter.

"What do you mean?" Brittany asks as she rummages through her bag.

"You seemed off today. Are you okay?"

"I was? How so?" Brittany looks up and sees Santana standing there with no attempt to change her clothes or shower.

"Well, first off you hardly broke into a smile when you taught and that's rare on its own. Also, when you were counting you missed the number 4 twice and you didn't do the third set of jabs on our left side."

"Oh wow," Brittany shakes her head and straightens up. "Really?"

Santana nods, "So, what's going on in that head of yours?"

"I don't know. I don't think it's anything, but I got this phone call today and it was just weird." Brittany scrunches her eyebrows thinking back at that call.

"Weird? How?" Santana asks and takes a seat on the bench beside Brittany.

"It's probably nothing. Just… a lady called and asked a bunch of questions about the class. Like, how many people are registered or how many instructors we had, or if we went to competitions. I know those don't sound like much, but just the way she hesitated when I asked questions back to her was just a little off. Besides, I've had many phone calls from clients and potential clients and none of them have ever asked me questions like that. It was just… it made me feel funny."

Santana scrunches her nose because it sound funny to her too. She takes a deep breath and just tries to be positive for Brittany. She doesn't want her to worry anymore. "I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe she's just a nosy person. But anyway, we will keep an eye and an ear out for any other weird behaviour for the next week or so, okay?"

Brittany nods. They give each other a small smile and Santana stands up to give Brittany a kiss on the cheek before they shower and change in silence. Santana knows Brittany is still thinking about it.

When they get back to the matted floors, Quinn is just packing her stuff getting ready to leave. They chat a bit and Brittany tells her to keep a lookout of any weird occurrences that may happen in the next couple of weeks. Quinn also agreed that the conversation was weird but she figures there are weird people everywhere, so she didn't think much of it. They say their goodbyes to Quinn and head home.

* * *

After dinner and a little bit of down time, Brittany and Santana talk about Santana rejecting the nude scene and Brittany being grateful that Santana doesn't have to show her lady bits on screen. Even more grateful that Santana doesn't have to lie under a sweaty body builder pretending to enjoy rounds of love making with him. They talk some more but Brittany seems to be in a little bit of a fog. She tries her best to focus on the conversation but her head was somewhere else.

As they lie in bed at night, Santana is curled up into Brittany's arms sound asleep. Brittany closes her eyes trying to get some rest but her mind keeps buzzing. Buzzing in and around an uncomfortable feeling. Something about that phone call is making her head hurt. Something very off, yet at the same time, something about it seemed familiar.

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Constructive criticism? XOXO


	45. Chapter 43

AN: Wow! I've been at this for a year! Thank you for all your support through 2016. This is probably the best thing that happened to me in 2016. Alas, we shall continue.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)

* * *

"Brittany, baby, time to get up. Breakfast is ready," Santana calls gently from the door. She hears moans coming from the bed and then complete silence again. "Britt-Britt." Santana walks over to the bed. It's not like Brittany to be so moody in the morning, especially if Santana made breakfast.

"Sanny, I don't feel well," Brittany says in a soft, raspy voice. She spent the entire night tossing and turning, trying to get some sleep and when she finally did she would be forced awake again by those stupid thoughts swimming through her head.

"What's wrong?" Santana askes as she pushes the blonde hair away from her girlfriend's face. She feels for a fever but everything feels normal to her.

"My head is pounding and the light hurts it even more."

Santana looks up and the sunlight is coming in through the crack in the curtain, "I'm sorry, baby. I'll grab you some Advil and you can go back to sleep okay?"

Brittany nods and Santana stands up to close what she can of the curtain before going back downstairs to get Brittany some medication. She fills a glass with water and goes back up the stairs. Brittany pops in the Advil and closes her eyes again.

Santana strokes Brittany's hair gently and says as quietly as possible not to make Brittany's head pound anymore that it already has been, "Are you going in to teach today? Should I let Quinn know you're sick?"

Brittany shakes her head, "No, I'll go in. I still have…" she reaches over for her phone and checks the time, "3 hours to sleep it off. Can you let her know that I won't be in earlier than that though?"

Santana agrees and gets up to call Quinn.

3 hours later, Santana goes up the stairs to wake Brittany up, but she's already awake dressing herself slowly.

"How are you feeling?" Santana asks when they make eye contact.

"Better," Brittany says simply. "I still feel shitty though, but I'm only teaching the one class tonight, so I'm sure I can make it through. Are you taking the class?"

Santana shakes her head, "I have an audition, remember?"

"The nude one?" Brittany looks up with big eyes and one leg in her pants.

"No! No! Ew, no! The other one I told you about during dinner last night remember?"

Brittany shakes her head. She must have been zoned out again. "I'm sorry, I was kind of out of it last night." Santana shrugs. A little hurt but understands that Brittany had a lot on her mind. "Oh! The commercial?" Brittany says louder than she has spoken all day; last night's conversation finally coming back to her.

"Yeah, the multi-vitamins commercial. It's a small job, but they're a big company so Cedes told me that it would be good pay."

Brittany tells her she will wait for Santana at the studio until she is done and then they can go grab a bite to eat. When Brittany leaves, she gives Santana a kiss and wishes her good luck on her audition. She grabs her sports bag and makes her way to the studio.

* * *

Santana feels good about the audition. She feels confident. They told her she will be hearing back from them within 24 hours. She happily makes her way to the studio and parks her car in the back. She sees people exiting so class must have just let out. When she goes in, it's quiet. No one is on the mats anymore, all the members have left. Quinn isn't situated at the front desk like she usually is but she does see a group of people crowded around the front of Brittany's office. Most of the instructors are there. It must be their monthly meeting.

She is about to take a seat in the waiting area to let them finish when Ashley turns arounds and spots Santana. It's strange though, because Ashley doesn't say hi like she usually does. She turns her head back and whispers into Quinn's ear. Quinn turns around right away to face the Latina.

"Santana!" Quinn says out loud. Everyone turns their head to look at her.

"Hi?" Santana says completely confused as to what is going on. Just as she's about to ask where Brittany is Quinn continues to speak.

"Santana, can you please tell Brittany not to do what she has almost already set her mind on doing?"

"What?" Santana scrunches her face up. "What are you talking about? What has she set her mind on doing?" She walks towards the group of athletes until she sees Brittany. Her arms are crossed over her chest and she's leaning against the outside of her office window. "Britt? What's going on?"

Everyone is silent. She can almost hear everybody's eyes move from her to Brittany and back.

"Come in," Brittany says quietly and gestures towards the office. "Alright guys, the meeting is over for today. Next class starts in an hour so grab a bite to eat or something and bring me back the receipt so I can reimburse you for coming in on your day off."

Everyone disperses and Santana walks into the office and sits on the chair in front of the desk. Brittany is about to sit down but hesitates. She's half way down when she stands up again. She walks over to the window and closes the blinds.

"What the fuck is going on, Brittany? What am I supposed to tell you not to do?"

Brittany pulls her chair from behind her desk and places it next to Santana so they can sit next to each other and be equals. Brittany hates sitting behind the desk when she's talking to Santana or any of her friends, it seems too official and snobby.

"How was the audition?" Brittany changes the subject clearly knowing that it won't get her anywhere.

"It was fine. Now tell me what's going on before I start freaking out." Santana sits on her hands to keep them from fidgeting.

Brittany takes in a deep breath. She looks down at her knees, "Imgunastrtcompetingagain."

"What?" Santana leans in and looks directly at the side of Brittany's face.

"I've decided that… I'm… gonna start… training for competitions again."

"What? Why? What kind? Like the ones where you do routines in front of judges?"

Brittany shakes her head.

"Don't tell me you're going to actually go back into full contact fighting."

Brittany nods.

"Brittany! Why?"

Brittany stands up and rounds her desk she opens a drawer and pulls out the daily newspaper and throws it onto the desk. "This is why!" Brittany spits out.

Santana picks up the paper; it's not the Lima Liner but one of those free transit papers that most people grab on the way to college or to the office. Santana reads the article.

 ** _Flip Flopping Fish Tank_**

 ** _The newly opened Shark Tank claims to be a Martial Arts and fitness studio but we can't see anything 'Martial Arts' about it. Sure they have classes on kickboxing, judo, and self-defence but learning the techniques and actually using them are completely different. The Shark Tank is full of has-been competitors who are now too out of shape and too skill-less to actually go out to compete against different facilities. Brittany Pierce (co-owner and instructor at The Shark Tank) was a legend in the ring but can she still handle herself when push comes to shove? Sources say, no. According to these sources, The Shark Tank does not intend to send anyone out in the real world to use these 'Martial Arts' techniques they teach so who knows if they really work, right? I say, if you still got it, prove it! Show the city that you really are a Shark Tank and not just a bunch of scared little guppies._**

Santana's heart is in her throat. She lowers the paper back onto the desk and looks across the table to see Brittany clenching her jaw and her fists while looking at absolutely nothing.

The office remains quiet for some time. Santana doesn't know what to say. She's conflicted. She doesn't want Brittany to fight, she doesn't want her to get hurt but at the same time she understands that Brittany wants to prove herself worthy of owning this place. Martial Arts was and still is her life and now she's being called out as a has-been. That can't feel good.

"Now do you understand?" Brittany breaks the silence that had seemed to last too long.

Santana nods. "But like can you not … send other people out to fight? To represent The Tank?"

Brittany takes in a breath and licks her lips. She shrugs, "I can, but I can also compete too. I was thinking if possible, there is a very big competition 6 months away held in Orlando. I will put a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board and anyone who is interested will be first assessed by me and if I feel like they're fit to fight, I'll give them a registration form to fill out, then I will have extra training sessions for competitive members that have registered for the tournament," Brittany says it as if it's the simplest thing in the world.

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

Brittany nods.

Santana thinks quickly about this. She hates that Brittany may potentially get hurt. She hates that person who wrote that article. She's trying to understand why Brittany needs this so badly, but once Brittany speaks up she knows she has to let her do this.

"I have to represent what I own, San. You know? I have to prove to everyone out there that this place is worth coming to. Just one competition to show I can still do it, then that's it. I'll retire from competitions, I promise. I just… I can't let people think we are inadequate and useless as a Martial Arts facility. I just can't." Brittany shakes her head and looks down at her desk.

Santana remains quiet. She knows how important this is. She takes in a breath and nods as she exhales. "Okay, I support you."

Brittany smiles and rounds back to the empty chair left next to Santana. She sits down and scoots closer. She places her hands on Santana's cheek and gives her a long kiss on the lips. "Thank you. Thank you for supporting my decision."

Santana nods. "Just… be careful, please."

Brittany nods again, "Of course."

* * *

 **2 weeks later…**

Brittany had told Sue everything that had happened, the good and the bad at The Tank. Sue told her that she trusted her judgement and to do whatever she needs to do. Brittany had told her she wanted to enter herself as well as some others into an upcoming competition, Sue was completely supportive and told Brittany to charge all fees, gear, and instructors – if they needed anymore – to her and she will foot the bill. Brittany was more than grateful for Sue's support.

When Santana comes home from her first day of shooting the commercial she sees Brittany sitting at the kitchen table studying a sheet of paper.

Santana walks up behind her and wraps her arms around the blonde's shoulder, "Whatcha doing?" she asks.

Brittany turns her head and puckers for a kiss in which Santana automatically reciprocates. "Just going through the list of people interested in training for the upcoming competition." Brittany puts the paper down and pulls Santana onto her lap. Santana squeals as she plops down across Brittany's knee and wraps her arms around her girlfriend's neck. "How was work?" Brittany asked.

"It was a long day," Santana says and leans her head on Brittany's shoulder. "Lots and lots of waiting then there were lighting issues and by the time we were ready to shoot, they had to redo my make up," Santana sighs. "I'm so tired yet I felt like I did nothing all day."

Brittany hugs her tighter, "Do you want to take a nap?"

Santana looks over at the clock behind her, "No, if I nap now, I won't be able to sleep tomorrow. Tomorrow I have to get to set even earlier than today because we're doing an outdoor scene and we need to get there before the area gets packed with onlookers."

Brittany nods, "Want to help me figure out who I should register in what division?"

"Okay," Santana says looking over at the paper sitting on the table in front of them but staying in her place across her girlfriend's legs. "Who do we have?"

"There are a few people I don't think are going to be quite ready, there's that Roger guy who thinks he knows everything but I honestly think he's just going to get his ass kicked in the ring. I don't want him to compete but I'm not sure how to tell him."

"Well, babe. You're the instructor. If you don't think he's ready then you should tell him up front. Maybe give him a test or something, if he can pass it, he can compete. If not, then he can't. Would that work?"

Brittany nods, "I guess I could do that. I'm just afraid he'll get mad. I don't know… he's a nice guy and all but he just won't listen when I correct his techniques. He always says 'I _am_ doing it! I'm fine!' ugh, it's annoying."

Santana chuckles, "Yeah, that's pretty annoying. Who else you got?"

"Well, I have Nicholas that I want in the novice division, Quinn said she wants to try for the women's intermediate division, Roger in the men's intermediate if I let him, and then me."

"What division are you in?" Santana asks with a tilt of the head.

"Black belt," Brittany mumbles and kisses Santana's cheek.

Santana makes an 'O' with her lips and nods her head, "Of course."

"So, yeah," Brittany says as she picks up the paper again, "There's about 4 people I'm going to have break the news to that they won't be ready to compete this year."

"Can you only register one person per category?"

"Normally, no, but at this competition they only want the best from each facility or the competition can last for weeks, so yes, only one member from each place can register in each separate division. This cuts down on the amount of people going and at least all the fighters going should have a chance. I would never put any of these guys against Nicholas and he's only novice. Most of the other novice fighters there will be like Nick."

"How do you determine their levels?"

"I just look at their skill and how long they've been training for. Nick has only been with The Tank for 8 months, minus the time The Shark Tank didn't exist. Quinn has been actively training for about 3 years, but again, it's on and off. Roger has been at it for 3 years as well."

Santana nods and looks at the paper. "Where do you think you would place me if I wanted to join?"

Brittany laughs and looks over at Santana, but Santana isn't laughing. Brittany clears her throat, "Well, honey, you haven't really been seriously training all that much. At least not in the actual combat part." Santana glares at her. "Don't get me wrong," Brittany fixes it quickly, "The work outs have been great! I mean look at you, you're hot and fit and your body is amazing! But as for actually trying to knock someone out? I don't think I'd put you in."

Santana pouts, "Okay."

"Aww, don't be like that," Brittany says as she wraps her arms around Santana tighter. "Please?"

Santana continues to pout, "Okay."

"Aww, San. Come on, you wanted me to be honest with you right?" She nuzzles into Santana's cheek.

Santana nods, "Yeah, you're right. But hey, do you think I can join in on the extra training sessions when you have them? I just want to see what you guys do."

"Of course you can," Brittany says and kisses Santana's temple.

* * *

Brittany hands out an envelope to each person she feels is qualified to compete; one to Nicholas and one to Quinn. Inside, there is the registration form, the scheduling for the divisions, and the days they will be competing. After they are fully registered, they will get a competition number that they need to keep with them at all times (unless they're fighting).

Roger didn't take the rejection too well. Brittany told him exactly why he didn't make it and that it was because he doesn't listen and because of that, coaching him in the ring would be nearly impossible. But once he can focus more and understand why techniques are important, she will enter him into another competition. Roger wasn't too happy about that and he told Brittany that he wants to prove to her that he is better than Nicholas and better than Quinn. Roger, being the man that he is, refused to fight Quinn so he opted to fight Nick.

"But Nicholas is only a novice. Roger, you have years on him," Brittany tells him with her arms folded across her chest.

"Then put me into the novice category," Roger says with his hand on his hip.

Brittany sighs, "I'll talk to Nicholas."

Roger nods with confidence.

Brittany pulls Nicholas aside and tells him everything that is going on with Roger and his challenge. Nicholas shrugs and decides it's a good time to see where his level is at right now and agrees to the friendly sparring competition.

When Ashely's class finishes, there is a one hour gap before the next class, so Brittany decides this is a good time to have the competition. She locks the door so only her, Quinn and the two boys are inside. It would be unfair to them if there were any distractions.

Brittany clarifies the rules, "This is a friendly fight so don't go all out. I'm looking for techniques and points. Tap outs are allowed but I will most likely stop you if it gets too close, even if you decide not to tap. We are still one team, so no hurting each other. No groin kicks, no knees or elbows, and only light taps to the face. I won't be coaching either of you, so you're on your own. Head gears on for this. Alright, gear up!"

The boys gear up and take their spots on the mats. Brittany has a timer in hand and starts the fight. The boys are moving around, gauging their opponent. Nicholas tests Roger out by throwing a few jabs. Roger dances around with a smirk on his face. Roger throws a wild kick and Nicholas doges it easily. Roger throws some jabs and a hook, which Nicholas too, doges easily. Nicholas throws a kick and follows up with three punches all of them making contact with Roger's helmet. Roger charges at Nicholas but Nicholas ends up moving to the side and pulls Roger down with him, throwing him to the ground. At this point, Roger is getting frustrated. He gets up and charges again, this time he jumps in the air about to hit Nicholas with all he's got. Nick throws an easy side kick and winds Roger in mid-air. Roger goes down and grabs his stomach. He's curled into a ball. Brittany stops the fight and tells Roger to breath.

"Alright, I've seen enough. Nick, you've won this fight," Brittany says as she kneels down next to Roger.

Roger shakes his head in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Roger," Brittany says. "Nick has won. He showed patience and understanding of the techniques. He was able to read you easily and he didn't let you get to him. Look, you're very talented and very athletic, but you need to calm down and listen when you're taking the classes. Understand that we are here to help you, not to embarrass you by pointing out your mistakes. I have said so many times to never jump unless you are 100 percent positive that you will make contact, and even then, it's risky, but you still go and do a dangerous jump attack on someone who is well aware. I can't have you doing that at the competition," Brittany shakes her head. "Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"

Roger nods. "Yeah, fine. I get it." He stands up and shakes Nicholas's hand. "I'll try harder to listen."

Brittany pats him on the back and smiles, "Good! I only want to see you improve."

Roger gives a smile and takes his helmet off and heads to the showers. Brittany shakes Nicholas's hand and congratulates him.

"Extra training is Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday evenings at 8pm!"

Nick smiles and nods furiously. He's excited.

"You too, Quinn!" Brittany says a little louder, directing her voice over to the desk.

"Got it!" Quinn answers.

* * *

 **Saturday evening**

Santana walks through the door at 7:45pm after her final day on set. She nods at Quinn at the desk as she's packing up the papers for the day. The last class ended at 7:30pm and the final members are just trickling out, leaving Brittany, Quinn, Nicholas, and Nessa. Santana pulls one of the chairs from the waiting area and watches as Brittany and Nicholas warms up and waits for Quinn.

After a 15 minute warm up, Nessa pulls out the kicking pads and the rest of the group begin to strap on their gloves. Brittany explains the rules while they are gearing up.

"Rules of the competition are a little different from what you see on T.V. There is no cage, there is only a ring made out of mats. Do not run out of the ring or you may be disqualified or they may punish you by awarding your opponent free points. Gloves, mouth guards must be worn and men must wear groin cups," Brittany looks over to Nicholas and he nods. "No punching or kicking the back or groin, no elbows or knees. Throws are allowed and those will entitle you to 2 points. Each punch or kick that makes contact is one point each. Locks and tap outs are allowed. If you tap, the round is over and you lose that round. There are 5 rounds, unless someone gets knocked out, then the fight is over. There is one referee and 4 judges. The ref calls stop, you stop. The judges will score you from each corner of the ring after each round. Depending on the amount of people, it may be a round robin, so you may have to fight everyone, but only once. The only time you might fight that person again is if you both qualify for the finals, but we won't worry about that now. So is everything clear?"

Quinn and Nicholas nod. So does Santana. Brittany looks towards the brunette and smiles at her. She finds it so cute that she's listening to the rules as well.

Quinn asks, "Are the fights co-ed or…"

"All the divisions are split. The only time the fights will mix is if there isn't anyone in your category and they will ask you if you would like to fight in another one – usually asking the woman if they want to fight in the men's division."

Quinn nods.

"Alright, let's start!"

Brittany is partnered up with Nessa and Quinn with Nicholas. They are doing kicking drills and foot work today. Focusing on the lower body. Nessa shows them throws and a few joint locks to end off the evening. Nearing the end of the training session they take a short break before they start the conditioning portion.

"San, do you want to join us?" Brittany asks as she takes a sip of her water.

"Join you with…"

"Just some conditioning. Sit ups, burpees, push-ups, sprints, squats… you know… the things you hate the most," Brittany smirks at her.

Santana rolls her eyes and chuckles, "Yeah, I'll join you. Give me 5 minutes to warm up."

Santana takes off her shoes. She's already in sweat pants and a t-shirt so she's ready. She does some light stretches and lets Brittany know she's ready. Quinn smiles at her and claps at the new arrival. They start off with sprints. Up and down the length of the mats. Then they start doing their push ups and mountain climbers, crab walks and squats, frog jumps and v-sits.

"Ohhhh… my… goddddd…" Santana groans when they finally finish. She lies face down on the mats, her sweat pants have been rolled up to its highest point possible. Arms and legs sprawled out all over the place. "Britt, I think you killed me."

Brittany laughs as she picks up her water bottle and walk over to the lifeless body that was once her girlfriend.

"Have some water," Brittany says as she rubs her hand up and down Santana's sweaty back.

Santana struggles to flip herself over but then gives up. "Nope, can't do it."

"Come here," Brittany says and puts the water bottle down. She gently flips her girlfriend over and sits her straight; allowing her to lean against shoulder. She then passes her the water again.

Santana takes a sip and hands it back to Brittany. "I think you need to carry me home," she says and closes her eyes.

"Not a problem," Brittany chirps, taking a sip out of the same bottle. "But you should probably take a shower and change first," she nudges Santana but the brunette ends up tipping over. Brittany catches her before she falls over completely, laughing at the whole thing. "I have a spare change of clothes in my locker you can use. Go." She stands up and grabs Santana's hands to help her up.

"Ugh, you guys are too fucking cute," Nessa says as she comes out of the change room. "Go home!"

Brittany laughs, "I'm trying to, trust me!"

Santana begins moving on her own and Brittany lets go of her. Brittany slaps her bum to get her moving in the direction of her locker. Quinn and Nicholas join Brittany on the floor.

"Alright, good job tonight guys. See you Monday," she says to Nicholas and Quinn. "Will you be coming on Monday, Nessa?"

"I don't think I can make it on Monday, but I'll be here Wednesday, is that okay?" Nessa asks. She's only here to help Brittany train since both Quinn and Nicholas aren't quite up to Brittany's calibre.

"Sure, that's great! Thanks for helping me out," Brittany gives Nessa a hug.

The three of them exit the studio, leaving Brittany alone and Santana in the locker room. Brittany decides she should take a shower as well. She grabs her change of clothes out of her duffle bag and joins Santana in the shower. She helps out the brunette since she seems to have issues lifting her arms up. Santana stands there and lets Brittany wash her. Brittany chuckling to herself through most of it.

* * *

The week passes and training is going great. Brittany is beginning to find her groove again and Quinn and Nicholas have been improving drastically with the extra training. Santana, on the other hand wasn't able to move until Wednesday. Brittany gave her a massage every night that week because she felt so bad for putting her through the work out. Santana promises that she'll get back in shape. She reminds Brittany that she was keeping up with all her classes back at Sidekicks, including Judo, kickboxing, and intensive cardio class. She just needed to ease herself back in. Brittany knows this so she nods as she sprinkles Santana's face with kisses.

It's Monday again, the girls just finished dinner and Santana walks through the living room with mail in her hands.

"Anything important?" Brittany asks from the couch as she flips through the channels and stops on some 80's martial arts movie.

Santana walks towards the couch flipping through the mail, "Ads, ads, bill, ads… hey! This one is for you," she hands Brittany the envelope as she plops herself down onto the couch. "Why is it addressed here when it's for The Shark Tank?"

"Ohh! I know what it is," Brittany quickly opens the envelope. "It's the list of early bird registrants for the competition and our competition numbers. Most of the people register though the early bird anyway since it's way cheaper. This way we can kind of gauge who we are up against and what schools will be attending, you know, a heads up."

"That still doesn't answer my question," Santana scoots over to sit closer to Brittany.

"Oh, sorry. I addressed it to our home because I didn't want it lost with all the crap The Tank gets daily. It's important that I get this right away so I know how to train everyone properly." Santana looks at her with some confusion in her eyes, so Brittany elaborates, "I mean I kind of know the strengths and weaknesses of some training centres so I have an idea on what to focus on."

"I see," Santana nods. "See any opponents worth your while?" Santana jokes as she grabs some almonds from the coffee table. "Hm?" Santana asks again before popping one in her mouth. "Britt?" She looks over at Brittany but the blonde has her eyes scrunched up in what looks like both concentration and dread. "What's wrong?" Brittany doesn't answer. "What's wrong?" Santana repeats and puts her hand on top of Brittany's arm which seems to snap the blonde's attention back to her.

"Huh? Umm…" Brittany shakes her head then looks back down at the list in her hands. "Quinn is fighting Cassie."

* * *

What the fuck, right? Damn.

Comments? Reviews? Constructive criticism? Please be kind. XOXO


	46. Chapter 44

AN: Life has thrown me a curve ball so I haven't been writing much lately, but I'm back! I know I said before that there are issues that I wanted to write in that may need a sequel to finish, but I think I'll just throw it into this story to cap it off. I predict no more than 3 chapters left.

* * *

"What?" Santana asks and turns Brittany's hands so she can look at the list too. She sees a bunch of names and locations and cities, she has no idea how the list works but she continues to scan the paper until she sees Brittany's name.

"Quinn is fighting Cassie," Brittany repeats. "Fuck!"

Santana stays quiet. Brittany looks like she's in deep thought and doesn't want to interrupt her.

Finally, after a few moments, the question brewing in Santana's throat can't be held in any longer, "Who are you fighting?" she says in almost a whisper. She sees Brittany's name but has no idea how to read the numbers.

Brittany scans the list again for her name but Santana quickly points to it for her. Her eyes follow the lines and numbers.

"I'm fighting a girl from Miami and one from Chicago."

Santana nods, "Do you know anything about these girls or their training centre?"

Brittany nods, "The school in Chicago is pretty good. Their main focuses are throws and take downs so I have to do my best to keep my distance and work on my speed. The one in Miami I have only heard a little about. Their instructor is quite new but I heard they're fast." Brittany nods again; more to herself than to Santana this time.

Santana notices Brittany's nervousness and slips the list away from her. Brittany looks over at her girlfriend with scrunched eyebrows.

"Let's get some rest, okay?" Santana asks gently, "You've had a long day. You can tell Quinn about this tomorrow when you see her. I'm sure you will do an amazing job training her, okay? You need some rest and stop thinking so hard." Santana leans in and kisses the creases between Brittany's brows.

Brittany nods, "Yeah, okay."

Santana puts the list down onto the coffee table and grabs Brittany by the hand and takes her up to their room. They wash up and get dressed for bed. Santana is in before Brittany but holds her arms out for her when she's ready to sleep. Brittany curls up into Santana and they close their eyes after a goodnight kiss.

Not more than half an hour into her sleep, Santana is woken up.

"Cassie!" Brittany whispers loudly.

Santana rubs Brittany's arm up and down to calm her girlfriend. "Shhh… I know. Quinn has to fight Cassie. Britt, please go back to…"

"No," Brittany says in a quiet voice. She turns so she's looking at Santana's face.

"No what?"

"Cassie! She was Helen."

"What are you talking about?" Santana brushes Brittany's wild hair away from her face.

"That caller that was asking all those weird questions. She said her name was Helen something… It was Cassie, I recognize the voice now. I knew she sounded familiar."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive… well, like, 90 percent sure. No, more like, 95 percent sure."

"That sneaky bitch," Santana hisses.

"Damnit, I should have caught that."

"You wouldn't have known, baby. Quinn didn't know either. It's not your fault."

"Yeah, well. This sucks. I feel so stupid."

"Stop it," Santana says sternly. "No one would have caught on. No one expected her to play games like this." Santana palms the back of Brittany's head and tries her best to massage her neck. "You're not stupid." She kisses Brittany's forehead. "Please get some sleep, baby. You need it. You're exhausted."

Brittany nods and snuggles into Santana's hair trying to calm herself down with the scent of Santana's shampoo. Santana continues to massage her neck until one of them eventually falls asleep.

* * *

 **A month later**

Training has been going great. Brittany had told Quinn about fighting Cassie and although both girls know the skills Cassie possesses, Quinn is not one to back down. Brittany feels like everyone will be ready come competition day. Santana continued to go to the classes and to the extra training when she didn't have any auditions to go to. Sometimes, Santana would even hold the pads for Brittany when Nessa wasn't available. Santana had built her stamina back up and was relatively able to keep up with the lessons, including the conditioning at the end of the competition team's extra practices. She was still tired as hell and nowhere close to where Brittany was, but she was proud of her accomplishments.

Everyone was looking forward to seeing more progression and everyone was always pumped for the next lesson, however, one dreadful rainy day, Quinn walks shyly into the studio. Brittany is preparing to teach her class in an hour when she turns around and her eyes widen. A small gasp comes out of her chest as she jogs towards her friend.

"Quinn, what happened? Are you okay?"

Quinn has mascara marks streaking down her face. She's cradling her right arm with her left and her hair is full of dirt and mud. She begins to sob and her head falls on Brittany's chest.

After a few moments of Brittany comforting her, Quinn gathers herself up and begins to speak.

"I was on my way here and it was raining super hard. I picked up my pace and began running. I was about a block away when someone or something got caught on my bag, so I pulled on it. I lost my balance and ended up slipping off the sidewalk. I fell," she sniffs. "I fell and my duffle flew out of my hands and into traffic… I don't even know where it is, but even if I did, I'm sure it has already been destroyed judging by the volume of cars outside. I slammed my hand on the pavement to catch myself." Quinn shows Brittany her palm. It's red and bruised and is beginning to swell.

"Is it broken?" Brittany asks, hesitant to touch it.

"I don't know, I don't think so. But it really hurts. Do you mind if I go get it checked up?"

"Of course not," Brittany says with full concern showing on her face. She checks the time, "Santana will be here in 20 minutes, she can drive you if you want."

"Are you sure she won't mind?" Quinn asks.

"Of course she won't, but I'll give her a call to ask if you want?"

Quinn nods and Brittany runs to her bag to find her phone. She quickly calls Santana and like Brittany predicted, had no problems driving Quinn to the emergency room.

Brittany helps Quinn clean up a little bit. Wiping mud from her hair and face. She cleans up the minor scratches on Quinn's knee, hand, and elbow.

"Brittany," Quinn says quietly. Brittany nods asking her to continue. "You probably know already but… I don't think I'll be able to compete anymore… I can't train."

Brittany stops for a moment, letting the words Quinn had just said sink in. This was something she knew but not something she was thinking about or had realized she needed to put into consideration right at this moment.

"Uhh, yeah. Of course," She blinks away her thoughts, "You healing properly and taking care of yourself is first priority. Don't worry about anything."

"But the registration fee, you had already paid for it."

"Don't worry about it, Quinn. Okay? That's not important. I'll explain everything to Sue tonight and I'm sure she will agree."

Santana comes through the door and the two blondes look up.

"Oh geez, what happened?"

Quinn stands up, "I'll explain everything to you on the way to the hospital. I should probably get an x-ray." Santana nods. Quinn takes a step and limps.

"Is your leg okay?" Santana asks as she slips an arm around Quinn's waist.

"Yeah, it's just bruised and a bit sore, but I'm sure its fine."

Brittany stands next to Santana, "Thank you." She gives Santana a quick peck on the lips and Santana smiles at her.

"No problem," Santana says as she guides Quinn towards the door.

"Drive safe!" Brittany yells out to them.

"Always," Santana answers as she pushes the door and holds it open for Quinn to exit first.

* * *

That evening at dinner, Brittany pushes a piece of broccoli around on her plate with her head balanced on the palm of her hand and her elbow resting on the table.

"You okay, Britt?"

Brittany looks up when she hears her name, "Yeah I'm fine. I know Quinn will be fine. I'm glad nothing is broken, but her bone is severely bruised and that in itself takes a long time to heal. Not to mention the sprain in her wrist." She sighs. She shakes her head from all the negative thoughts, "I'm just glad she's okay. It could have been way worse."

"Yeah, she could have fallen into traffic."

"Yeah, I can't even imagine… poor Quinn."

"I wonder what her bag got caught on. There's nothing really on the sidewalks other than lamp posts, but how can her duffle get caught onto a lamp post?" Santana asks, then finishes off her chicken.

Brittany shrugs as she continues to push the same piece of broccoli around, "She said it might have been a person. She wasn't too sure. It was pouring out and she said by the time she got up she wasn't even focused on what was around her, she just went straight to The Tank."

Santana nods in understanding. "So, she told me she won't be able to compete." Santana is hesitant to bring up this topic, but she can tell this is what has really been bugging Brittany and the blonde needs to talk about it.

Brittany licks her lips and nods, "Yeah. I mean, of course right? And it's fine. It's just… she worked so hard and… I don't know. It would have been nice to have a full team show up, you know?"

Santana notices that Brittany hasn't had more than half her chicken and hardly any of her vegetables. She probably didn't even touch her rice pilaf. "Brittany, I'm going to ask you something and you don't have to answer me if you don't want to okay?"

Brittany looks up with creased brows but gives a shrug and a nod.

"Are you upset because you know that asshole will bring a full team to represent his place?"

Brittany continues to poke at her rice, "Maybe," she whispers.

"You know that, that doesn't matter right?"

"I know, I know," Brittany puts her fork down. "It doesn't matter. It shouldn't matter but I just want to prove to him that my studio is just as successful as his, even more so if possible. I don't know. My head is jumbled and confused right now." She runs her hand down her face.

Santana stands up and walks over to Brittany's side of the table and squats down so she can see eye to eye with her girl. "It's going to be okay. You're going to represent. Nick is going to represent. It's quality babe, not quantity. You know that."

Brittany just inhales deeply then exhales. "Yeah," is all she says.

"Why don't you get washed up and we can watch some T.V. before we go to sleep, hm? I'll clean up," Santana says as she stands up.

Brittany looks down at her plate of food, "but I'm not finished."

Santana runs her fingers through the blonde's hair. "Babe, you haven't touched it in the last 15 minutes, you're not going to finish it. I know you. You don't eat when you think too much. It's okay, I'll wrap it up and put it in the fridge for you."

"I'm sorry," Brittany says while looking at her partially eaten cold chicken.

"Are you apologizing to your chicken?" Santana chuckles.

"No, I'm saying it to you," Brittany looks up at her. "You cooked me dinner and I didn't appreciate it because I'm being mopey."

"You're allowed to be mopey," Santana says and kisses the top of Brittany's head. "Now go on and get washed, I wants to get my cuddles on." She grabs Brittany's plate and walks over to the counter.

Santana's little ghetto accent brings a smile to Brittany's face. She goes to wash up for a night of warm snuggles with the best girlfriend in the world.

* * *

Days pass and Santana has been helping Quinn at the front desk of The Shark Tank. Brittany is in her office doing some budgeting when the courier comes in and drops off their mail. Quinn thanks the man and brings the stack into the office for Brittany to open.

Brittany is on the phone with Sue when Quinn knocks on the door; her right wrist is wrapped in a black bandage. Brittany waves her in and silently thanks her when Quinn sets the mail down onto her desk.

When Brittany emerges from her office again, she looks pissed. Santana is the first to look up when she feels Brittany's presence and right away she knows something is amiss. Brittany turns to look at the judo class that is happening right now and quietly makes her way to where Quinn and Santana were filing memberships into their respective folder. Brittany drops an envelope right in front of Quinn and straight away crosses her arms over her chest. Quinn looks to Brittany in confusion but Brittany only gestures for her to open it. When she does, she pulls out a 'Get Well Soon' card. She opens the card and reads the inside. Her jaw drops before the look of displeasure crosses over her face. Santana takes notice and leans over Quinn's shoulder to read the inscription on the card as well.

 ** _Dear: The Shark Tank_**

 ** _We all hope that Miss Quinn Fabray has a quick recovery. We will miss her at the Orlando National Championships. Get well soon._**

 ** _From,_**

 ** _Your friends at Lowell's Workout Studio and Training Centre_**

Just as Quinn did and Brittany probably did as well, Santana's jaw drops as she lets Quinn slowly lower the card onto the desk.

"What the fuck?" Santana finally says out loud and a few heads turn from the mats. She looks over to see Brittany's glare and she bites her lip to stop herself from interrupting anymore of the class.

"We'll talk about it tonight, after the last class," Brittany says and turns away from the two girls and back into her office.

"What the fuck?" Santana whispers this time to Quinn. "Do you think it was – "

"Maybe?" Quinn answers Santana's questions before it's finished. "I think – I mean, it could be. I honestly didn't see anything though. So, I have no proof. But, it guess it's possible?" She is unsure if what came out of her mouth was supposed to be a question or a statement. She is unsure about the whole thing.

"Well, fuck," Santana rests her chin on her fist while trying to figure everything out. If there was even anything to figure out.

* * *

When the last class is finally dismissed, Brittany and Santana both remove their gloves and grab a towel. Brittany and Quinn make quick conversation with some of the members before they trickle out the door, leaving the three of them and the quiet whirling of the fans blowing across the room.

"So," Brittany starts as she sits in the middle of the red workout area.

Quinn removes her shoes and joins them in the middle of the matted floor. "So," she copies.

"Quinn, is it possible that someone from there injured you on purpose? Did you see anything?"

Quinn looks down at her bandaged hand and shakes her head, "No. It was really pouring out and honestly, after it all happened, I didn't even think about how it happened, I just wanted to get out of the stinkin' rain and into here."

Brittany nods in understanding. "Wow," Brittany breathes to herself. "If they did that on purpose to take you out of competition, that is low. Really low. I mean... wow."

"Well, they're low people. You get it? Lowell's people?" Santana tries to joke but the two blondes only stare at her.

Santana tries to hide her embarrassment when Brittany's hand gently wraps around the back of her neck and she feels a light kiss on her cheek. Santana looks up at her with questioning eyes but Brittany just smiles. "Thank you for that," the blonde says. Santana's joke calmed Brittany down immensely. "Well, at least Nick can shit kick one of their members," Brittany shrugs.

Santana and Quinn laugh and nod. Nicholas really is a good fighter for the amount of time he has been in it.

The three girls sit in relative silence before Quinn gets up, "I should probably go. I have an early doctor's appointment tomorrow morning and Sam wants to take me out for breakfast before that."

"Yeah, we should shower and get out of here too," Santana says and stands up as well.

They say their good-byes to Quinn and as Quinn closes the door, Brittany stays sitting.

"Are we going to go?" Santana gestures for Brittany to stand but Brittany continues to mull over what just happened.

"You go ahead and take a shower first, I want to do some stuff before we go, is that okay?" Brittany asks. "I won't be more than half an hour."

Santana nods and makes her way to the locker room to strip herself out of her still moist tank top.

When Santana is finished and walks out of the locker room, the sight she sees is both beautiful and frightening.

Brittany had stripped herself of her own tank top, leaving her only in her black sports bra and spandex shorts. She has her hand wraps on and her left ankle is also wrapped up from an earlier injury. Santana leans against the side wall and crosses her arms over her chest while watching her girlfriend in action. Brittany is throwing punches at the heavy bag. Right, left, right, left, right, left, hook, hook, jab, upper cut, low jab, high jab. She is throwing kicks out in between. Heel kick, jab, cross, roundhouse kick, roundhouse kick, hook punch, hook punch, jab, side kick. More combinations than Santana can ever think of just coming out of Brittany at rapid speed. Her power, her focus is amazing. Brittany ducks under a non-existent punch and wails her arm around for a powerful hook to the mid-section. Brittany makes a few grunts as she exerts her power. Then Santana sees Brittany go down and start doing push ups. Fast ones. She can hear Brittany breathing hard and in spurts. She jumps up into a burpee before she begins striking the bag again.

"Wow, I would hate to be that bag," Santana says quietly but loud enough for Brittany to hear.

Brittany turns her head towards the sound of the familiar voice. As she does that, the bag comes swinging back and knocks into Brittany's shoulder causing her to lose her balance a little bit as she takes a couple of crooked steps sideways.

"Oof!" Brittany says as she glares back at the bag and sticks a hand out to stop it from moving before it can hit her again.

"Wow," Santana says as she towards her, Brittany's sweat leaving little visible droplets on the mats. "Are you okay?" Santana asks as she tucks a piece of loose hair behind Brittany's ear.

Brittany nods, "Yeah, just had to let out some steam. I must have lost track of time. Sorry, I'll go take a quick shower now."

Brittany is about to step around Santana when she's stopped. Santana's hand firm against Brittany's tight glistening abs. Santana tip toes and puckers for a kiss which Brittany quickly responds to. Santana runs her free hand from Brittany's shoulder down to her hand as she deepens the kiss. Her first hand still on Brittany's abs. "That was super hot," Santana says. "Umm," she shyly looks around the empty studio.

Brittany quirks a suggestive eyebrow, "Babe, I'm so super sweaty and the windows." She looks around to the glass with the clear view of the streets.

Santana just smirks as she walks over to the windows and closes all four blinds from ceiling to floor. She saunters back to her girlfriend who seems even more out of breath than she was a minute ago, licking her lips.

"But you just showered, and I'm all sweaty," Brittany says, not detaching from the eye contact as she begins to remove her hand wraps.

"Well, what's the point in waiting for you to shower when I could just join you again, hm?"

Brittany's smile widens as she grabs Santana by the hips and closes in for an intense kiss. Santana knows how Brittany gets after a workout and she knows she's in for a very hot and rough evening. Exactly what she wants.

* * *

Wednesday evening, a week after they received the card from LWSTC, Brittany and Nicholas are training with Santana and Nessa. Santana is holding the heavy bag while Brittany practices her kicks and Nessa is training Nicholas on his speed. They switch and Nicholas works on the bag with Santana and Brittany works on her throws with Nessa. They are nearly finished and are all doing sit ups along the wall when Brittany notices a figure outside the window.

She stops to take a better look. When she realizes what, or in this case 'who' is outside. She stands up and walks towards the door. The other three members stop their workout to see why Brittany is opening the door.

"What are you doing here?" Brittany asks when the figure tries to step in but Brittany blocks his way.

"Just checking out the competition and I like what I see. Well, I like our odds I mean," the chubby arrogant fatass says.

"We are closed, please leave," Brittany says as and tries again to close the door but Kenneth stays put. Santana and Nessa join Brittany and Nicholas watches curiously from afar.

"What a cute little turn out. Just the two of you competing, I read on the pre-registration letter. It's a shame you weren't still with us, we have a big team going. At least 8 of us will be attending. It's too bad you had to betray us, Brittany."

"We are all about quality, not quantity, Kenneth," Brittany grits her teeth and crosses her arms over her chest. "And you know very well I didn't betray you."

Kenneth chuckles, "Well, of course you're going to have to say that. That's really all you _can_ say with such a sad turn out," completely ignoring the latter part of her statement. " I'm sorry that your small little team became more of a joke now that Fabray is out. We do really hope she gets well soon," he smirks.

Brittany squints her eyes and glares at the man, "She trained so hard." Brittany shakes her head. "What kind of martial artist are you? Who does that to somebody when there is a fair way to prove who is better only a few months from now?"

Kenneth opens his mouth to talk but seems to catch himself. He closes his mouth for a few moments before responding, "I don't know what you're talking about. Besides, it's not like Fabray was that great anyway. I'm sure you can replace her with Mexi-fries here if you wanted to," Kenneth gestures to Santana.

"The hell did you just call me?" Santana says as she steps forward.

"Oh right, you can't fight. People don't learn to fight here at this studio," Kenneth chuckles once again and it burns a fire in Brittany's eyes.

Brittany lunges forward but before she can do anything, Nessa grabs her from the waist and holds her back.

"You better watch your mouth, Asshole," Santana says as she grabs a hold of Brittany's hand to calm her down.

"See you in Orlando, girls," Kenneth says. He looks up at Nicholas standing frozen at the back, "And that goes to you too," he smirks and turns on his heel before walking down the street and turning the corner.

Brittany takes a deep breath as Nessa slowly lets go of her. Brittany closes the door and runs her free hand through her hair.

"I think we should call it a night everyone. I'm sorry we were so rudely interrupted. I'll see you guys on Saturday. Get some rest," she says mostly directed at Nicholas who has no idea what was going on and looked shocked and a little scared.

Nicholas and Nessa nod before grabbing their gear and getting changed. Brittany goes to the desk to lock the drawers and cabinets before closing up the studio.

* * *

That evening, the girls are lying in bed with Brittany on her back with her right hand attached to Santana's left. Santana's eyes are heavy but she turns to her side to look at her girlfriend deep in thought.

"Britt-Britt?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"Kenneth is a douchebag, don't let him psych you out. That's exactly what he's trying to do."

Brittany sighs, "Yeah, I know. It's just so hard to focus when his ugly mug is popping up out of nowhere."

Santana kisses Brittany on the shoulder. "I know, but you have to know that you are better than him. More mature. More professional. More skilled."

"I hope so," Brittany raises their link hands and kisses Santana's fingers.

"I know so. Goodnight, Britt."

"G'nite, love."

A few moments pass and there is something playing in the back of Santana's mind and she knows that if she doesn't say it, she won't be able to sleep tonight. She knows that Brittany is still awake because she can see her eyelashes flutter in the moonlight.

"Britt?"

"Go to sleep, San," She turns to kiss Santana on the forehead before looking back up at the ceiling.

"Britt, what do you think of what he said?"

"What did who say?" Brittany turns her head to face the Latina. They can just barely make out each other's features in the darkness.

"About me taking over Quinn's spot at the competition," Santana says softly.

Brittany's eyebrows furrow together as she tries to look into Santana's eyes to see if she's serious.

Suddenly, as if a thought hit Brittany square in the head she responds, "No."

"Why?"

"Santana, you haven't even started training seriously for this and there are only a couple months left. Quinn was in the intermediate division, they're not going to change the division for us."

"So, I'll start trai-"

"No."

"But Britt-"

"Santana, I said no!" Brittany raises her voice and turns her body to face away from Santana.

Santana bites down on her tongue before she can speak anymore. _Maybe this wasn't the best time to ask._ She thinks to herself. She considers asking again when Brittany isn't so stressed out. She hesitantly scoots closer to the blonde and wraps her arm around her waist. She can feel the girl tense beneath her touch and she is a split second away from pulling back, afraid she crossed some sort of boundary when Brittany grabs her hand with her own and pull it tighter against her like a blanket. She feels Brittany relax at her touch as they both drift off into a slumber.

That night, both girls have dreams.

Santana dreams of getting in the ring with Kenneth and beating the living shit out of him. Brittany, on the other hand, dreams of watching Santana in a ring with some random beast of a woman elbowing Santana in the face as Brittany screams for the match to stop.

* * *

Comments? Reviews? Constructive criticism? Please be kind.

Thanks for staying with me. XOXO.


	47. Chapter 45

AN: I apologize if this story is dragging. I should've split it into two separate stories like I was thinking originally. Thanks for sticking with me. Trial and error - I'm still learning.

* * *

"When's the competition?" Santana asks when they are gearing up for the evening session.

"In just under three months," Brittany responds and bends over to touch her toes.

Santana nods and begins her stretches. Nessa is away today but Mike is here to help Brittany and Nicholas train for the competition. Quinn is on the side doing a gentle work out while watching the rest of them practice.

They go through some basic strategies and since Brittany's stand up fighting techniques are her strongest skills, they decide to work on her weaker techniques such as locks and submissions.

Mike is grappling with Brittany on one side of the studio while Nicholas and Santana are working on his kicks. Quinn is on the side coaching him while Santana holds the pads for him to hit. During Nick's break, Quinn shows him some stretches to improve his flexibility, Santana wanders over to the other side and watches Mike and Brittany.

She sees Brittany struggling to get a hold of Mike's arm and out of nowhere she says, "Try tucking his forearm under your armpit to keep him steady."

Brittany continues struggle and as if naturally listening to a coach, she does exactly what Santana says and pins Mike down. He taps out. Mike rolls off of her to catch his breath and Brittany looks up towards the voice of her 'coach.'

"Wow, how did you know to do that?" She asks and rolls up onto her knees to look directly at her girlfriend.

Santana shrugs, "I don't know. It just seemed like the right thing to do."

"I'm impressed!" Brittany says with a smirk and nod.

Santana gives a bashful smile and goes back to Quinn and Nick to hold the kicking paddle for him this time.

When the training is finished, and Brittany is left to close up the studio, Santana waits for her on one of the entrance chairs as nervousness creeps up through her body once again.

"Brittany, can we talk about last night?"

Brittany is silent for a moment after grabbing her keys. "What about it?"

"I really want to help you represent your studio and I think if I train intensively with you for the next couple of months, I may be able to hold my own." Santana bites her lip at the end of her sentence.

"We don't have time for that kind of training, San. Quinn has been doing this for years and I only think she was ready for the intermediate division this year. How do you expect to get to her level in two months?" Brittany leans against the reception desk facing Santana.

"By training extra hard?" Santana mumbles.

"No," Brittany says firmly.

"Why won't you give me a chance? Just train me and you'll see that I have it in me." Santana's voice grows louder.

"No," Brittany says again. "I'm not entering you in the intermediate division."

"Why?"

"Because you're not ready!" Brittany drops her sports bag onto the floor. "I don't want to put you in a division where you are going to get your ass kicked, Santana!"

Santana feels her heart drop in Brittany's lack of confidence in her. "You don't trust that I can do it, is that it? You think that even if I trained every single day up until the competition that I will get my ass kicked? Geez, thanks for the support, Brittany. What am I doing here anyway? Why am I taking all these classes if you don't think I can do anything with them?" Santana looks up at her girlfriend from her chair but uses arm gestures to show her frustration.

"It's… it's not that," Brittany tries to defend.

"Then what is it?"

Brittany shakes her head. "I just don't want you fighting at the competition. In the ring. At that level. At all."

"Why? I can train hard. I can be ready! "

"I just don't, okay?!" Brittany almost yells.

"Why not?!" Santana says at the same volume

"Just stop, Santana. I said no!"

"Fuck, Brittany. Just tell me why!"

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU GET HURT!" Brittany yells out louder than she has ever used her voice towards Santana.

"I can take a fucking hit!"

"NO!"

"Fuck! Then do you want me to even go to Orlando with you?" Santana asks.

This throws Brittany off. What kind of question is that? "Of course I do!" She exclaims.

Santana stands up from her chair, "So you think it's okay for me to watch YOU get hit and thrown around? That's fucking hypocritical of you! Do you think I would enjoy watching you get punched and kicked and possibly even knocked out? Yes, you're an amazing fighter, but shit happens you know? And I have to stand there and look like the fucking supportive girlfriend while you are in the ring being attacked? All I asked of you was for a little support so I can go represent your company. Unless… unless you think I'm going to embarrass you." Santana takes a step back to gauge Brittany's reaction.

Brittany clenches her jaw and shakes her head. Speechless. Too many thoughts are flowing through her mind about Santana getting hurt, possibly getting sent to the hospital considering how Cassie fights, she never even considered the fate of the studio's reputation because it didn't matter to her when Santana was involved. But with the lack of response, Santana takes this as a _yes_ and becomes furious.

"Well, fuck you, Brittany!" Santana storms out slamming the door open before it closes on itself.

Brittany chases her out but realizes that both her and Santana's bags are still inside the studio, along with her keys. "SANTANA, WAIT!" Brittany yells out. She goes back inside to grab her keys off the desk and rushes back out, locking the door quickly behind her, but by then, Santana had already rounded the corner. Brittany runs to the end of the block and looks both ways. Santana is nowhere to be seen. "SANTANA!" Brittany yells again. "Fuck!" she whispers to herself. She goes back to the studio and picks up their bags. She debates on taking the car, but she doesn't know if Santana will come back and if she does, she wants Santana to take the car home instead of walking or taking a taxi. She sighs and decides to walk home. It's going to take her at least an hour to walk, but she wants to leave the car there for Santana, just in case.

Carrying two sports bags over her shoulder, Brittany thinks this walk will probably do her some good. She plays back the entire conversation in her head over and over. _Why wasn't Santana understanding her concerns. Why didn't she answer her when she asked if she would embarrass her? Of course the answer would be no. Why doesn't Santana see that she's just trying to protect her from getting hurt?_ Brittany contemplates all these questions as she makes her way home.

When she finally gets home, she knows that Santana hasn't arrived yet. She puts the bags down next to the couch and takes out her phone. No missed calls but one new text. Brittany eagerly opens it to see that it's from her mom. Her mom wants to visit again to see how she and Santana are. She also wants the information on the upcoming competition her sister had mentioned and was wondering why Brittany hadn't told her that she was competing again.

Brittany decides to ignore the text until she can sort things out with Santana first. That's the only thing on her mind right now. She calls Santana and she got what she expected – voicemail. She texted her some apologies and waits. Eventually, she washes up quickly, constantly peeking out the door or listening intently to see if Santana had come home. Nothing.

She sits at the edge of the bed and puts her face into her hands. The stress of everything is taking over her and she is forced to lie down. She does so and closes her eyes for a couple moments to rest them but she ends up falling asleep.

When she wakes up a few hours later because her back begins to hurt from her legs still dangling off the side of the bed, she checks her phone again for the time and notices that she still has not received any texts from Santana. She begins to worry.

 ** _To My Love: Baby, I'm sorry. Can u please come home so we can talk about it? I'm really worried about u. I left the car at the studio's lot for u if u planned on taking it home. Pls come home soon._**

Brittany sighs and lies in bed facing the ceiling. What feels like years later – but was really only about two hours, Brittany hears the front door close gently and sits up from her position on the bed she hasn't moved from since her last text. She checks her phone. Nothing.

It's taking a while and Santana still hasn't made her way up the stairs yet, but Brittany can't wait any longer. She gets up off the bed and makes her way downstairs. She sees Santana crouched over her bag, she's looking at her phone when she stands up and turns around.

"Shit, Britt," Santana's hand covers her heart as she jumps back startled. "You scared me."

"Sorry," Brittany says as she walks closer to her girlfriend. "You didn't answer my texts."

"I left my phone in my bag," Santana shows her the phone and wiggles it in her hand. "Thanks for bringing it home."

"Oh, so I guess you didn't – "

"I brought the car home too. Thanks for leaving it for me," Santana says, grateful for Brittany's thoughtfulness.

Brittany nods and bites her bottom lip not knowing whether it is acceptable to get any closer. "Santana, I'm sorry. I don't think you would embarrass me. I never thought that. I just – my mind was all full of stuff and I really just don't want you to get hurt. I've seen what happens sometimes to people in competitions and it's scary and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you."

Santana sighs. She takes Brittany's hand and pulls her towards the couch to take a seat.

"I'm not weak, Britt."

"I know you're not –"

Santana raises her hand up to stop the blonde from talking, "Let me finish please."

Brittany nods.

"I'm not weak and I'm stronger than you probably think I am. Stronger than most people think I am. And you…" Santana places a hand on Brittany's thigh. "You are a better teacher than you give yourself credit for. I've learned so much from you, trust me. Even if I don't win. Even if I'm out on the very first fight, I want to experience this with you. I want to do this for myself. I want to prove to myself that I can be strong." She looks up into her girlfriend's eyes, "I want to make you proud."

Brittany looks down at the hand on her thigh then back up to those sincere chocolate eyes. She has no words. She has no words because she understands. She went through the same thing with her parents – with her mom to be exact. She knows Santana has improved a lot. Santana is a smart fighter. Santana had even beaten Quinn once or twice with throws and submissions.

"Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?" Brittany asks while playing with Santana's pinky.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Brittany nods, "Okay. I'll change the name on the registration tomorrow but you have to promise me you will train hard and you won't get mad if I push you and if you feel at all unprepared for it when the time comes, you have to tell me, okay?"

A smile breaks into Santana's face and she wraps her arms around Brittany's neck. "Thank you! I promise I'll make you proud."

Brittany nods into Santana's hair, "I already am." Brittany pauses but speaks again when her mind thinks back to the very long evening she had. "Where did you go?"

As their hug breaks apart, Santana explains how she took a walk to clear her mind. When she made it 4 blocks away she realized she didn't have her phone with her and walked back to the studio to find that Brittany had already left. Luckily, her keys were still in her jacket pocket and when she saw that Brittany had left the car, she knew it was for her. She tells Brittany that she wasn't ready to go home yet, so she drove down to LWSTC to see if anyone was still training. Everything looked so different. Kenneth was there presumably coaching around 8 people, including Leigh and Cassie but they were more or less just chatting and sometimes throwing a punch here and there before taking breaks and chatting again. Brittany shakes her head upon hearing this. It's so sad to hear what that place has become.

Brittany tells Santana that her parents and her sister may come to the competition as well to watch and Santana's jaw drops when she realizes that they will be watching her too.

"Are you going to invite your parents?" Brittany asks.

Santana shakes her head, "I don't think they will care. Honestly, they have never been to a single one of my performances in high school, they won't come to this, I know it."

"Why don't you ask, you never know."

"Brittany, the last time I talked to them on the phone I told them how I had this wonderful girlfriend and how they would love her and that they should meet her and even the fact that I'm living with you now in your home. Do you remember what their response was?"

Brittany tightens her lips and nods.

"Yeah," Santana says, "They said that's great and that they were going to be out of town for a meeting the week after. As long as I'm living and breathing, that's good enough for them. They don't care, Brittany and I'm okay with that."

Brittany nods and doesn't push it any further. She understands that Santana's family life was never the best and that she was never close to her parents. She just hopes that one day, maybe, she can meet them. Perhaps... on their wedding day?

* * *

Brittany begins to train Santana every day except for Sundays, when she would get her rest. Santana had declined two auditions from Mercedes and focused solely on her training with Brittany. Some days the training would go well and both girls would have smiles on their faces by the time they left the studio. Some days they would get home exhausted and they would just cuddle up onto the couch and fall asleep but some days were frustrating. Some days they were screaming at each other. Some days Brittany would get frustrated and need to step into her office to calm down. Some days Santana would storm off into the locker room to release her frustration. Some days she would storm out of the studio completely and some days Santana would cry.

Today was a bad day. Today there was screaming and storming off into the locker room. Today there was crying.

It's 10:45pm and everyone including Quinn has left the studio. Brittany was doing a little sparring with Santana when Brittany told her to kick with her right leg.

"Why would I kick with my right when my left is stronger?" Santana asks.

"You still need to use your right leg, San. So, you might as well get used to kicking with it."

Santana tries to kick but fails to hit Brittany with it. Brittany tells her to try again, and again she misses.

"Come on, Santana! I'm wide open! Kick me!"

"I'm trying, but you're anticipating it now. There's no way I can hit you when you know exactly what I'm going to do!" Santana says frustrated.

"If you worked on your speed with your right leg then maybe you would be able to hit me."

Again, Santana kicks and misses.

"Fuck, Britt. I don't see you fighting with your left!" She challenges.

Brittany sighs and switches sides. She kicks with her left and makes light contact with Santana's ribs.

Frustrated, Santana tries to kick again with her right but it's easily blocked by Brittany's left hand and Brittany counters with another left kick, this time to Santana's helmet.

Santana grits her teeth almost biting through her mouth guard after she gets hit.

Brittany is hopping around Santana, trying to find another opening. Santana kicks again and Brittany easily steps away from it. Santana decides to charge with a flying right front kick when Brittany automatically sees and opening and extends her left leg out for an easy side kick predicting a hit to Santana's helmet again, not knowing Santana was going to jump and thus making contacting with her jaw instead.

"Oh my god!" Brittany cries out as Santana hits the mats hard. "Shit!"

Santana is lying on her side holding her jaw and glaring up at the blonde, "What the fuck, Brittany?"

"I'm sorry! I didn't know you were going to jump. Didn't I tell you never to jump? This is what happens!"

Santana feels tears well up in her eyes from everything that has happened in the past hour. The frustration, the yelling, and now the embarrassment and anger directed at her girlfriend. Brittany crouches down to check on her when she pushes her away and rips off her gloves, throws them onto the mats, and storms off into the locker room ignoring Brittany's call for her.

Brittany decides to let Santana calm down a little bit, so she removes her own gloves, assuming they are done for the day, and grabs Santana's gloves and puts it away for her. She cleans up the studio of kicking pads and hand wraps before going into her office to grab a fresh ice pack. She goes into the locker room to see Santana sitting on the bench with her elbows on her knees and her head hung low.

"Are you okay?" Brittany asks quietly.

Santana sniffs but nods her head.

Brittany gently sits down on the bench next to her and rubs her hand up and down the Latina's back. "Can I see your jaw?" Santana slowly lifts her head up and Brittany sees the bright red mark that has formed on her girlfriend's jaw and pouts. "I'm sorry," she says again and gently places the ice pack where it needs to be. Santana flinches away at the cold but then lets Brittany keep it there.

After a few moments of silence, Santana finally speaks up. "You don't think I'm ready to fight in intermediate yet, do you?" she exhales as her self-confidence is drained.

"Actually," Brittany says as she removes the ice to look at her jaw. She leans in to give it a healing peck before placing the ice pack back on. "I think that you have been doing very well. You have been improving a lot and I am surprisingly impressed."

Santana rolls her eyes, "You didn't' answer my question." She looks the blonde in the eyes.

"Honestly, I think your take downs and submissions have reached intermediate level. Only your stand up fighting needs work, but I can work on that with you."

"Really?" Santana asks surprised.

"Really," Brittany says confidently. She brushes the brunette's hair out of her face and gives her a small smile. "I'm so proud of you."

Santana smiles back, "Thank you. Now, if my girlfriend would stop kicking me in the face, maybe we can focus on my right side. What do you say?" Santana says with a wink.

"I think," Brittany says as she lowers the ice pack. "We should get home," she gently hooks Santana's chin to bring her closer. "Get washed up," she leans in to graze her lips on to the plump ones in front of her. "And you can show me," she kisses and tugs on Santana's bottom lip with her teeth. "Some of those take downs and submissions at home."

"Wow," Santana says as her eyes flutter open. "That was probably the cheesiest thing I have ever heard."

Brittany shrugs and smirks, "I tried."

They both smile at each other before giving another quick peck and packing up their stuff before going home.

* * *

So, did anyone see Heather's live chat yesterday? She totally mentioned that she wanted to learn martial arts! - Whhhhaaatttt?

Anyway, comments? reviews? constructive criticism? Please be kind.

2 chapters left.

Next chapter there is a slight time jump to the competition.


	48. Chapter 46

AN: So sorry for the wait. I just couldn't get myself to write lately. Maybe I'm just sad that this story is ending too. Anyway, the story must go on. I hope you enjoy it. I have another story in mind already with a lot more angst.

 _Have you checked out my Brittana 2 year anniversary tribute? If you haven't, please do. It's called Brittana's Wedding Vows. It's my take on how the wedding episode should have been and what the vows should have sounded like._

* * *

"Wow," Santana breathes out as she, Brittany, Nessa, and Nicholas walk through the huge gymnasium with their new black and red Ohio Shark Tank jackets a few hours after they arrive in Orlando. They took a cab to their hotel to drop off their gear and get settled in before walking two blocks to the sport arena where the tournament is going to be held for the next four days. Nessa will act as Brittany's coach since no one else in the studio has the requirements to do so. Sue agreed to pay for Nessa's flight, accommodation, and food as gratitude for helping out the studio so much. They line up to check into their divisions and a few people stop to talk to Brittany after recognizing her from past competitions.

Each competitor is given four stickers printed with their competition number – one for each day to place anywhere visible on their competition attire. Brittany explains to them that the chances of them needing to use all four stickers is rare since most likely each of them will only be fighting two days at most, the other ones are just back-ups. There are teams scattered all over the place. Some of them look confident and somewhat arrogant. Some of them, like Brittany, look calm and collected, as if they had done this a hundred times. Some of them look like Santana and Nicholas, whose eyes are wide with amazement and a little bit of fear.

Brittany is distributing name tags to her team when they hear, "Oh my lord, please tell me it's THE Brittany Pierce!"

All four of The Shark Tank members turn around and there is a blonde, about Santana's height, her hair is down and she is wearing a headband. She's in skinny jeans and a light pink blouse and is sporting a huge smile on her face.

"Tara!" Brittany almost shrieks and the girls collide in a tight hug. Brittany lifting the shorter girl off the floor for a split second. "How are you? I didn't see your name on the roster, are you competing?" Brittany asks after their hug breaks.

"I am," the Tara girl replies. "But I'm not doing full contact this time. I dislocated my shoulder last year so I'm easing my way into it by starting with light-semi-contact over by the west wing of this arena." Tara looks over at the three people standing around the taller blonde and smiles awkwardly at the brunette who is eyeing her skeptically. "Is this your team?" She asks and looks back at Brittany.

"Yes! This is my team!" Brittany says with more pep in her voice. "You remember Nessa from years ago at the Vegas tournament, she's going to be my coach," Tara nods and shakes Nessa's hand with a smile asking her how she has been. "This is Nicholas, our novice fighter." Nicholas nods with a smile and eagerly reaches his hand out as if he knows who she is and is somewhat star-struck. "And this is Santana," Brittany slips her arm around Santana's waist after seeing that she is currently sporting her Snixx look on her friend. "…my girlfriend. She'll be fighting for the first time ever but in the intermediate division."

"Oh wow, how exciting!" Tara exclaims and shakes Santana's hesitant hand. "I'm sure you will be great! Brittany is like, the best! Good luck! I will be rooting for all of you!"

After a little bit more small talk about Tara's team, Tara goes in for another tight hug and waves goodbye to Santana and the rest of them.

"Sheesh, who was that ball of energy?" Santana mumbles under her breath, but not quite quiet enough.

"That's Tara the Torpedo!" Nicholas responds right away. "She's super cute and nice but once she's in the ring, holy crap! Watch out!"

Santana looks at Brittany for confirmation and Brittany nods in agreement. "Yeah, her and I used to compete against each other and more often than not, it was almost always down to the two of us. She isn't very big but she is fast and strong as fuck."

"Faster than you?" Santana asks with a streak of confidence that no one is faster than Brittany.

"Actually, yes. She's faster than me. Her stand up fight is amazing, the only way to beat her is to know her moves or get in some throws or submit her. Her and I practically fight the same way, that's how we ended up becoming friends. She's super nice though – when she's not fighting."

"Wow, I never would have guessed by the way she's dressed today."

"Don't judge a fighter by the way they dress, Santana," Brittany says as she boops her girl on the nose.

"Touché," Santana nods.

After looking around a little bit longer and sneaking a peek through doors leading to the actual competition stadium which left Santana's jaw locked in the open position, the team decides it's time to have dinner and get in a good night's rest before the first day of competition tomorrow.

* * *

After eating a breakfast of toast, eggs, and juice, the team walks into the arena totting their sports bags and uniforms. Santana is extremely quiet since her nerves are getting the best of her. She can feel herself shaking. After a few quick words with Brittany's family, a good luck hug for Santana from Brittany's mom and dad, Mr. Pierce shoos them away to get ready. The first fight will be between Nicholas and a member from LWSTC. Brittany is coaching from the sidelines. She is yelling openings at Nicholas that Santana doesn't even see until after Nick makes contact. Nicholas ends up winning 3 rounds in a row and that ends the fight not needing the 4th and 5th rounds, he moves on to fight the next winner.

When Santana's division is called up, Brittany is right there rubbing Santana's shoulder; keeping her loose and warm. Santana's first fight is against a tall lanky girl from Colorado. Santana removes her jacket as Brittany slips the mouth guard into Santana's mouth and giving her a sip of water. Santana is wearing a tight black tank top with a single red stripe down the right side and the words Shark Tank, Ohio printed on the bottom in white. She's wearing red shorts and red gloves and her hair is tied in a high braided pony. She asked Brittany to help her remove the infinity necklace she gave her that she never takes off and to put it in her bag for safe keeping.

"You can do this," Brittany holds Santana's head in her hands and looks her dead in the eyes. "You got this baby. Focus on your fighter. Feel out her movements first before you attack. Stay calm. Be patient. I'll be right here coaching you. Kick some ass, babe." Santana nods and Brittany kisses her forehead before Santana turns around and faces the ring. Her eyes focused on her opponent like Brittany said.

She touches gloves with the other fighter and once the center referee calls fight, Santana feels herself zone in on the girl at once. She can't see or hear anything else around her. She waits and watches the other girl move. A fist flies towards her but she dodges quickly and hooks her arm around hitting the girl square in the face.

"Ribs!"

Santana suddenly hears a single voice. One single voice and it's her coach. It's her Brittany. Right away she looks at her opponent's ribs and sees the opening. She goes in with a round house kick and knocks the girl back.

"Take her down!"

Santana rushes forward and tackles the girl to the ground. She throws in a quick arm bar and the girl taps out. Santana just won her first round. Santana wins her next two rounds almost the same way. Unfortunately for the other girl, she was not used to fighting a lefty so everything Santana did caught her off guard making it an easy win for Santana.

Brittany gives her a super tight hug after the fight, "Yay! I'm so proud of you," she whispers in Santana's ear. "How do you feel?" Brittany asks while passing Santana her water bottle.

"Tired, pumped, but why did it get so quiet when I fought?"

"Quiet? This place was all but quiet, hunny."

"Really? Because all I heard was you."

"That's called adrenaline, I'm glad you heard me though. But that's usually what happens when you're so in your zone. I was actually worried you might not hear me."

"I could always hear you," Santana looks up at Brittany smiling. Brittany smiles back and gives her a peck on the lips.

The day goes on and Nicholas has two more fights. He wins both of them, only having a little bit of trouble with the last fighter, but with Brittany's coaching, he managed to squeeze out another win. Santana also won her second fight winning two of her fights with tap outs and one by points. The black belts are called up at the end of the day to the center ring so everyone can watch. Brittany is up and Nessa is on the sidelines ready to coach.

Brittany is wearing the same top as Santana but has on black shorts and white gloves. Her hair is done up in boxer braids; two braids, each coming from either side and meeting in the middle and finishing in a merged braid down the center of her back. She starts by fighting the girl from Chicago. Santana is sitting behind Nessa, holding a towel in her hands and wringing it between her fists out of nervousness.

Remembering that Brittany had told her the girl from Chicago is known for throws and submissions, she can see that Brittany is moving around quickly and keeping her distance. Brittany does a quick round house kick, catching the girl on the arm. She does it again and the girl tries to grab Brittany's leg but she's too fast and Brittany manages to retract her kick. Brittany bounces around then blitzes in fast with two punches to the head. Brittany shuffles back quickly before she can be grabbed and thrown to the ground. In and out is all Brittany does for the entire round. Hitting the girl and moving away. Accumulating points that the other girl has no way of catching up with. Brittany wins with a score of 36 to 8. The next two rounds are similar. Brittany gets thrown a couple of times but quickly maneuvers herself off the floor before she can be submitted. Nessa calling out everything she sees so Brittany can react.

Santana is in awe. She knows Brittany is fast, but she's never seen Brittany _this_ fast. She obviously doesn't go all out when fighting her for practice, for very clear reasons. Santana literally wouldn't know what hit her. Brittany's speed is blinding.

Brittany's second fight is with the girl from Miami. She is about the same height and same build as Brittany and apparently just as fast. They touch gloves for sportsmanship and the fight begins with both girls moving cautiously around the other. It is clear that this other girl has done some research on Brittany and being patient, waiting for Brittany to attack so she can counter it. However, Brittany is more patient and only throws testing punches to gauge the distance and speed of this other girl. Finally, the girl throws a kick that catches Brittany on the arm, Brittany quickly grabs it and pulls the girl down. Brittany straddles her and begins throwing punches to the girls head and ribs. When the girl brings her arms up to cover her head, Brittany grabs her arm and moves quickly to put her in a simple arm bar. The girl taps out.

The second round begins and Brittany can see that the girl is losing patience. She becomes more aggressive and manages to get a few points off of Brittany. The round ends with the sound of buzzer and the center referee breaks them apart. After the points are calculated, the other girl is deemed winner by 2 points.

"What?!" Santana screams out. "Fuck that shit! Brittany had way more points than her. What the hell!" Some people, including Brittany turn to look at her with disapproving looks.

Nessa turns to Santana to shush her, "The judges see what the judges see, Santana, and it was pretty close. Unfortunately, they probably didn't see a few connecting hits and thought they were blocked. It happens. Britt still has a chance so let's keep it down for now."

Santana crosses her arms and bites her lip.

Round 3 begins. Brittany has become more defensive now but her speed has allowed her to counter each one of the girl's attacks with 3 of her own and even a few throws. The timer ends with a buzz and Brittany wins with a score much higher than the last round. Santana finds herself on her feet cheering and screaming for her girlfriend. Nicholas right beside her doing the same.

Round 4. The fight is long. Both girls are tired. Brittany has a tiny cut under her ear that has bled down and soaked into her tank top. With a final burst of energy the girl from Miami charges at Brittany and jumps up for a knockout move, Brittany manages to shuffle to the side at the last second and kicks the girl, catching her on the thigh. She hits the ground hard and Brittany pounces on the chance to submit her. They tumble around the mats for a while and eventually the other girl manages to flip Brittany over and she starts to punch at Brittany's head. Blocking as much as she can, tucking her head into her body while trying to block her ribs, she hears Nessa calling out to her. Brittany reaches up and grabs the girl down by the back of her neck, bringing their heads close together so the girl cannot throw anymore punches. At this point of the fight, if Brittany doesn't submit her, she will lose with the lack of points. With a swift change of direction of her body, she slides over her right side and wraps her body against the back of the other girl. They both fall to the side with the other girl's back to Brittany's front. Nessa is calling out things that Santana can only think of a few seconds later. Brittany manages to wrap her full body around her, her legs wrapped strategically to keep the other girl's legs steady and is trying to choke her out with something called the rear naked choke. The girl has her chin down and Brittany cannot get to her neck properly. They are struggling. Santana looks at the time. 40 seconds left. Brittany still can't manage to slip her arm under her neck. 35 seconds left.

"Arch your hips up!" Santana yells out. Nessa, Nicholas, and a few other spectators look over at her. Santana couldn't give two fucks about the looks right now, "Britt! Arch your hips forward!"

Brittany does so and it opens the girl's body up, exposing her throat. Brittany gets her arm in and it's a race against the time. 23 seconds. The girl's face is turning red and Brittany is pulling back as hard as she can. 18 seconds. The girl is still fighting even though her airway has been cut off. 15 seconds. The other coach is telling the girl to tap out, but she doesn't. 10 seconds. Brittany's eyes are closed, putting in all she's got. The other coach yells for her to tap again, but she doesn't. 7 seconds. The girl's movements stop, her eyes roll back, and her body slumps. Right away, the referee jumps in and breaks Brittany off. Brittany releases the hold and moves back to give her air. The referee goes quickly to lay the girl on her back making sure her airway is open and lifts her legs up to get the blood flowing back to her head. Meanwhile, everyone around the ring is silent. Brittany is on her knees watching intently with a worried look on her face. Santana's mouth is wide open. It's the first time she's ever seen something like this. After a very long 4 seconds, the girl takes in a deep breath and manages to breathe again on her own. Brittany sighs in relief. The referee deems Brittany the winner of the round and therefore the fight.

After the crowd claps for the girl who finally manages to stand up and walk away with the help of her coach, they cheer for Brittany's win. Nessa takes Brittany to the first aid table to get her cut cleaned up. They go to the stands to talk to Brittany's family for a little bit. Her mom shaking her head at the bruises and cuts like always but they tell Santana how amazing she did.

As they are about to leave the stadium, a voice comes over the speaker, "Brittany Pierce to the sign in table please. Brittany Pierce to the sign in table."

The team members all look at each other and Brittany shrugs and walks over to the sign in table while the rest of the group waits on the side. Brittany seems to be having a discussion with a few judges and the competition promoter. Santana can see Brittany's eyes open wide then a nod. She looks at some papers that are handed to her and nods again. She sees Brittany shrug and nods. The men pat her on the back as the part ways.

"What was that all about?" Santana asks when Brittany makes her way back to the group.

"Apparently, there is no one for me to fight in the finals on the last day. There was one girl on the list but she dropped out after watching my last fight with Miami girl."

"That great, Britt!" Santana exclaims. "That means you automatically win the championship finals, right?"

Brittany nods, "Yeah, for my category… but…"

"But what?" Santana knows the hesitation means Brittany is about to say something Santana isn't going to like.

"But, I'm still going to be fighting on the last day."

"What? How? Why? Who?" Santana stops walking. Nessa and Nicholas see that there might be an argument brewing so they quickly tell the girls that they will see them tomorrow and walk away towards their hotel.

"They asked if I wanted to fight… some other people in my weight class. I figured, since I'm here, why not? I want to earn a championship win, not win by default."

"And by 'some other people'" Santana uses air quotes, "you mean men?"

Brittany takes in a deep breath, "Yeah," she whispers when she lets out the breath.

"BRITT!" Santana looks mad and Brittany cringes at the volume of her voice.

"Let's talk back in the hotel, okay? Please? People are staring." Brittany says calmly and tries to grab Santana's hand but Santana pulls it away. Without a word she begins walking back to the hotel at a hurried pace. She wants to yell at Brittany for wanting to fight out of her category. Brittany follows behind.

* * *

When they reach the hotel and drop their bags onto the floor, Brittany quickly sorts through all her dirty sweaty clothes to be washed. She hears the washroom door close extra loud.

"I guess you can shower first," Brittany mumbles to herself.

When Santana finally comes out wearing a cotton Shark Tank t-shirt and panties, Brittany can't help but find it adorable and sexy at the same time. But one look at her girlfriend's pissed off face she shies away and goes take a long shower herself. When she emerges from the bathroom all fresh and clean with boxer shorts and a tank top, Santana is under the sheets flipping through the channels.

"So," Brittany says, as she gets under the covers herself. Santana looks at her and turns off the T.V., Brittany knows this is going to be a hard conversation to have.

"So," Santana says looking at her, "What are you trying to do to me?" she asks.

Brittany's brows furrows in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"You agreed to fight in the men's black belt category. In the finals! That means you're fighting the best fighter of your weight class."

Brittany nods, "Yes."

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"A heart attack?" Brittany questions, "from loving me too much?" she asks with an innocent smile.

"Yes! Wait. What?"

"Heart attacks are from loving too much," Brittany says simply, trying to lighten the mood.

Santana sighs, "Brittany, yes. I love you too much to watch you fight big, disgusting men. I saw some of their fights, they're ruthless. They're animals. They'll probably try to mount you or something."

Both girls cringe and then break out in chuckles.

"Why?" Santana says when the laughter stops.

"Santana, please don't be mad. It's a fair fight. Same weight class means similar height, similar build, similar speed. Sure they may have some muscle on me but I'm a smart fighter, San. You have to trust me."

Santana looks away, "I do trust you, I'm just worried, that's all."

"I was worried, too." Santana looks back at Brittany and Brittany continues to talk. "I was worried when you first stepped into the ring. I wasn't sure how you were going to be in your first competition. I wasn't sure if you would freeze or not hear my coaching. I hating seeing you get hit and hurt," Brittany runs her thumb along a large bruise on Santana's shoulder. "I am so, so proud of you, but that doesn't mean I'm not scared of the fact that you have to fight Cassie tomorrow."

Santana nods, "I'm a little scared too."

"But I know you can do it. I know you can hold your own. You've come so far, Santana and I believe in you. I know you will give her a run for her money."

Santana smiles. "Thank you, baby." Santana takes in a deep breath, "I guess I should trust you too. You know what you're doing. I'm sorry, I just, I really hate seeing you get hurt too." Santana runs her finger over the butterfly bandage under Brittany's left ear. She leans up and gives it a kiss. Brittany leans into it. "Does it hurt?" Santana says when her lips part from the cut.

"Mmm," Brittany hums, "Yeah, kiss it better again."

Santana chuckles and goes in again to kiss her injury, this time lingering her lips there and it brings a shudder through Brittany's body and a shot of arousal. Santana kisses her way up and nibbles on Brittany's ear lobe. Brittany turns her head and Santana's lips find her own. Brittany cups the back of Santana's head, deepening the kiss. Santana hums into the feeling but when Brittany breaks the kiss, Santana pouts.

"We shouldn't. You have to compete tomorrow," Brittany says as they prop their foreheads together.

Santana looks at the clock sitting on the night stand. It's only 8 o'clock, she has time. "But you don't," Santana crashes their lips together again and pushes Brittany back. Brittany slides down further into the bed and Santana follows her downward leaning half on top of her girlfriend.

"Do you have any idea how hot you look when you're fighting? When you're kicking ass?" Santana mumbles into Brittany's lips.

Brittany shakes her head, "Show me."

At those words, Santana pulls Brittany's tank top off of her and notices a lot more bruises than she expected. She frowns and places gentle kisses onto every bruise. Making her way down she sucks a nipple into her mouth. Brittany moans at the sensitive feeling and raises her hips, running her fingers through the dark locks. The competition, the fights, the adrenaline has Brittany so stimulated she doesn't think it will take long at all.

Santana makes her way down kissing the two bruises on Brittany's abs. She slips her thumb into the waistband of Brittany's boxers and pulls down. Kissing her way down her thighs, lingering on the bruise on her left knee then the bruise on her right shin. She pulls the boxers all the way off and kisses her way back up. Santana pushes Brittany's knees apart and kisses her inner thighs causing her to shudder.

"San," Brittany whispers and Santana looks up from between her legs. "You don't have to, today. I know you're tired. I know you have a long day tomorrow. I don't want you to feel like – "

Her words are cut off when Santana runs a finger through her folds.

"I want to congratulate my girlfriend for winning the championship for her category, is that so wrong?" Santana asks and moves her way up her body to be face to face with the darkened blue eyes.

Brittany shakes her head, "No, but –"

"Good," Santana kisses her again. Running her fingers through the folds again, "Wow, you're so ready already."

Brittany only nods. Santana lifts her finger to her mouth and sticks it in her mouth, slowly sucking Brittany's juices off of it. Brittany's breathing picks up at the sight. "Fuck."

Santana smirks and makes her way down Brittany's body again. She pushes Brittany's knee's up as she lays flat on her stomach. She kisses the tops of Brittany's inner thighs, looking at her glistening core. She takes a tentative lick and Brittany's hip jumps.

"Woah there," Santana says, "Sensitive much?"

"Yes," Brittany breathes out. "Very."

Santana slides her fingers through the folds one more time before entering Brittany slowly. Brittany lets out a long loud moan. Santana begins to work her fingers in and out slowly. Brittany's hips rise and fall with her motions. Her breathing is heavy already. Santana decides that Brittany needs release and she needs it now, so she licks up her slit with her fingers still drawing in and out and begins circling her clit with her tongue.

Brittany's thighs begin to tighten up, "Oh. God. San-tana."

Santana takes that as a cue to move her fingers faster, she sucks lightly and Brittany's hip bucks up violently. Santana uses her other hand to stabilize her. Santana moans at the amount of wetness that is leaking out of Brittany and down her fingers and onto the sheets. The moan sends vibrations up Brittany through her core and she bucks again. Brittany slams her hand down onto the pillow next to her and places it roughly onto her own face. Muffling her moans and shrieks. The room next door doesn't need to hear this. Brittany's free hand is tangling into Santana's hair.

Santana speeds up another notch and sucks a bit harder but not too hard knowing how sensitive Brittany is feeling right now, every little thing feels 10 times as receptive. Brittany's hip arch up and she holds it there. She's not coming yet, but is teetering on the edge and will come soon. Sooner than either of them had expected.

"Oh fuck. Santana - San. Shit."

Santana scratches Brittany's skin with the hand that is trying to hold her hips down unsuccessfully, urging her to find her release.

"Uuuhghhhhh," Brittany cries into the pillow.

Brittany's core tightens against Santana's fingers, pulsating, and her hips buck even higher, Santana's mouth following wherever Brittany's clit goes. Brittany's hand goes from Santana's head and to the sheets, gripping tightly to them as she releases; her knuckles turning white. Her body shudders and bucks. Her wetness drips from Santana's fingers from the height of her hips onto the sheets. Brittany's heels dig deep into the mattress. Finally, after a decent amount of time, Brittany slowly lowers her hips back onto the bed and Santana slows down her movements until it's time to pull out. Brittany throws the pillow off her face so she can get some air.

"Mmm, you needed that," Santana hums into Brittany's ear and wipes her fingers on her t-shirt as the blonde tries to catch her breath.

"Fuck, you're amazing," Brittany whispers. Her arm covering her eyes. Santana reaches down and covers her girl with the sheets. She sets the alarm on her cellphone and snuggles into Brittany's naked body for the night.

* * *

When Santana wakes up, Brittany is completely dressed drinking a hot chocolate and running her fingers through her hair. Santana still curled up into her. How did that happen?

"What time is it?" Santana asks with a croak in her voice.

"7am, you still have 30 minutes, go back to sleep." Brittany continues to stroke her hair.

Santana doesn't even question it, she just goes back to sleep.

Santana realizes later on when she's getting ready for the day that Brittany had woken up early due to a good night's sleep, and went to get breakfast for them. Brittany didn't want Santana drinking too much coffee before the fight, so she got her a juice and water along with a light breakfast sandwich.

Nicholas is in the finals but ends up losing to a much faster guy from Seattle.

Santana is up next and Cassie is warming up with Leigh on the side of the ring. They make eye contact and Cassie sends her a wink. Santana looks away and over to Brittany who is helping her strap on her gloves. Whoever wins this fight is in the finals.

Kenneth is sitting in the stands watching with his legs wide open, his gut hanging over his belt, and a cola in his hand. Santana can't help but cringe.

The ref orders them to touch gloves and they do. Cassie smiles at her and takes a few steps back to look Santana up and down, then she looks over at Brittany and winks again.

"You can do this baby, stay focused," Brittany says completely ignoring Cassie's antics and Santana snaps back into it. She knows Cassie will play games like this, and she needs to stay sharp.

Round 1. Cassie starts off fast right off the bat. She throws a couple of kicks, one of them hits Santana in the midsection. She throws three quick punches, two of which lands on Santana's shoulders.

"Come on, Santana. Let's move!" Brittany calls from the side.

Santana moves around and when Cassie kicks again, Santana grabs her leg and throws her to the ground. Cassie gets up quickly, not giving Santana any time to grapple. They dance around a little bit and Santana has no idea why she's feeling so nervous. Maybe it's the cocky look on Cassie's face. Maybe Santana knows deep down that Cassie is an amazing fighter. Maybe it's because she feels like she has a lot on the line and that she will disappoint Brittany if she loses.

Cassie throws a hook punch and Santana ducks under it, punching Cassie square in the stomach. Santana goes for a head punch but Cassie grabs her arm and flips her over her shoulder, throwing Santana to the ground. Cassie moves in fast and straddles Santana throwing punches to her head. Santana tries to block as much as she can. Santana lifts her hips up and Cassie loses her balance. Santana manages to push her off and rolls away back into a standing position before Cassie can get back to her. Punches and kicks thrown consistently from Cassie. Santana trying her best to find an opening, but Cassie is fast. The buzzer goes off and Santana loses the round 32-20.

Santana goes for a drink of water. She's upset at herself but Brittany tries to give her as many tips as possible; keeping her confidence up.

Round 2 pretty much goes the same way. Brittany is yelling things from the side but Santana can't seem to move fast enough but she's fighting smarter. Santana fakes Cassie out a few times landing her triple punch to the head and a few kicks to the body. This round feels so much longer than the last. Cassie kicks but Santana sweeps her leg. Once Cassie is on the ground, Santana tries to submit her but Cassie manages to slide out of Santana's hold from the sweat and weakness in Santana's limbs. Cassie kicks and Santana blocks it. Cassie punches and Santana blocks it. Cassie kicks again and catches her on the left rib. Santana goes down clutching her side. Just as Cassie is about to jump onto Santana to finish her, the buzzer goes off and the referee steps between them. Cassie wins this round 22-17.

Santana gets up and walks defeated towards Brittany. "I'm sorry," Santana says, still clutching her ribs.

"Hey!" Santana looks up. Brittany's eyes are furrowed but they're clear. They're as clear as the sky on a sunny afternoon. "Don't apologize, you did amazing. San, you're holding your own against someone who has years of experience over you. You are doing great. I am so proud of you."

Santana just shakes her head.

Brittany hands her a water bottle. "Dig deep, baby. I know you have it in you. You're not finished yet. Are you – are you okay?" Brittany lifts up the side of Santana's shirt to check her ribs. It's pink but when Brittany taps on each rib, it doesn't hurt enough to be fractured, but there will be a mighty painful bruise.

"I'll be fine." Santana looks over to her opponent and catches her eyes. Cassie blows a kiss then licks her lips seductively but not to her, to her girlfriend. She looks over at Brittany and Brittany has a look of disgust on her face. "Gonna fucking kill her."

"Remember to stay calm, Santana. Don't let her get to you. Be patient."

Santana takes a deep breath and the refs call the girls into the center once again. Round 3.

"I will gladly help you satisfy your girl tonight since you won't be able to move once I'm done with you," Cassie says in a sly manner when they touch gloves. Santana's ass is lit on fucking fire because she now feels a surge of adrenaline and anger. Snixx must have arrived.

Santana makes the first move this time. Kicking then following up with two punches to the head, making contact with all of them. Cassie moves to the side of the ring but Santana is fast to throw another kick, knocking Cassie off the mats and into the crowd. There are a bunch of " _ooh's"_ coming from the audience. The ref call for a reset and starts the fight again. Cassie throws a hard punch but Santana blocks it, countering with a head shot of her own. Cassie stumbles to the side.

"Throw her!" Brittany yells from the sidelines.

Santana quickly grabs her wrist and tosses Cassie on the floor. She quickly sets herself up for a wrist lock and Cassie taps. Santana almost can't feel the tap.

"Let go, San!" Brittany calls out and Santana does, just before the ref comes to rip her off of the other girl.

Santana walks to her corner, she sees people clapping and cheering but her ears feel like they're under water. She is still in the zone knowing she has another fight coming. She takes a sip of her water as Brittany wipes the sweat off of her. She's revving to go and when the ref calls them in again, she heads straight in still full of energy.

Round 4. Cassie seems angry, and with anger there are mistakes. Santana finds easy openings and makes contact with most of her shots. Cassie lands a few light punches but nothing that stops Santana from ploughing through. Santana gives a left hook and Cassie ducks, while her head is down, Santana kicks out making contact with Cassie's head. Cassie hits the floor and Santana is right there trying to get a good hold on her. Cassie is doing her best to defend against Santana, knowing that submissions are Santana's strength. She manages to slide her way out of Santana's grip which only irritates the Latina more. Cassie is getting really frustrated now and charges at Santana. She kicks her in the gut and Cassie leans into the pain, Santana then grabs Cassie by the neck and begins the guillotine. She pulls her head downward and rolls down onto her back and wraps her legs around Cassie's body so she can't escape. She pulls down on Cassie's neck and right away she feels a tap on her bicep. The referee pulls them apart and Santana wins another round.

"You're doing great, hunny. Keep it up!" Brittany beams. Brittany wants to tell her that most of the spectators are now watching her fight with Cassie, but doesn't because she doesn't want to make her girlfriend nervous. The fight has been intense and it has many people talking. Cassie was the shoo-in for this division but Santana is really testing her limits.

Santana is pumped for the final round.

The fight starts with Santana hitting most of the targets she aims for. She tries to throw Cassie to get in another submission but Cassie is keeping her distance this time. Santana knows she has a leg up on the points as long as she keeps it up she will win but in a fluke anticipated move, Cassie blocks a high punch, leaving Santana's body wide open and Cassie shoots a strong sidekick right into Santana's left ribs again. Santana grunts out in pain as she falls to her knee but gets back up right away. A burning, pulsing pain shoots through her left side. Cassie notices and begins to focus her attacks on Santana's left side, taking advantage of the fact that Santana is a lefty. A fake punch to the ribs has Santana flinching and Cassie takes her down with a sweep. She falls and Cassie follows through landing a knee to Santana's rib as she's going in for a submission causing Santana to scream in pain.

"Santana!" Brittany cries out. "Santana! Do you want me to throw in the towel?" Santana shakes her head as she clenches her teeth and twists out of Cassie's submission and flips over to finish with a kimura lock, but her left arm is weak from the pain in her ribs that Cassie manages to get loose and she aims a hammer punch to Santana's rib again. Santana shutters and curls up, letting go of Cassie's arm.

At this point, Brittany is tempted to throw in the towel but she knows if she does so without Santana's permission she will never hear the end of it.

Both girls get back on their feet and they exchange as many blows as they can with each other. Cassie with the one target in mind. Santana manages to get in a few good kicks with her right leg and when the buzzer goes off, no one knows the score. They each go to their respective corners with Santana's forehead leaning on Brittany's shoulder, just trying to breathe through the pain and keeping from crying. Brittany rubbing her hand up and down Santana's back is whispering encouraging words and telling her how proud and impressed she is and how much she loves her.

"The winner of this division and thus moving on to the finals tomorrow night is…" the referee pauses for effect, "Cassandra July! The final score of the last match being a very close 36 points to Santana Lopez's 34. July wins 3 to 2."

There are loud cheers coming from the LWSTC side but there are also some boo's coming from the crowd as well. People that Santana don't even know were rooting for her.

"Go shake her hand," Brittany whispers into Santana ear. Santana looks up and looks to the middle of the ring where Cassie is waiting to shake her hand. Cassie's face has changed though, she doesn't have the cocky smirk on her face that she constantly wants to slap off. Her face is humble and serious. She has a bruise on her cheek bone and a cut on her lip. Santana knows she probably looks just as bad or worse than Cassie. Santana makes her way to shake Cassie's hand and is met with a sincere hand shake.

"You impressed me, Lopez," Cassie gives her a small smile and turns away to head back to her team.

Brittany gives her a warm hug and takes her by the hand to the first aid station to check her ribs. "You are one tough cookie," Brittany says. "You have no idea how proud of you I am."

"But I fucking lost!" Santana says with a shake of the head.

"Santana! You were fucking amazing. You have no idea how many people were cheering you on. You were the underdog of this tournament. Everyone thought that Cassie would win with flying colours and when people found out how long you've been training, all jaws dropped. Santana, you rocked the shit out of this place today."

"But I still lost," Santana says quietly.

Brittany cups Santana's cheeks with her hands and forces Santana to look at her. They lock eyes and Brittany speaks, "Santana, shut up and be proud. You were amazing and I am so incredibly proud of you. I have never been this proud of anyone in my life, you are fucking incredible. I love you so much." And with those words, Brittany leans in to kiss Santana on the lips tenderly and doesn't move until Santana begins kissing back. "Be proud, okay?" Brittany mumbles into Santana's mouth. No response. "Shark Tank is proud, so you should be too," she mumbles again. No response. "Okay?"

Finally Santana nods and Brittany smiles into the kiss.

They finally make it to first aid and they decide it's best if Santana went to get an x-ray. Nessa asks if they needed anything, but all Brittany tells her is to let her parents know where they went and that she will call them after they get back from the hospital.

* * *

When they get back to the hotel with the good news that there is no fracture but a severely bruised rib that is going to hurt like a bitch for a solid 3 weeks. Santana is prescribed pain killers for when she sleeps because lying down may cause more pain than usual.

Brittany quickly calls her parents to let them know that Santana is okay and that tomorrow they don't need to go to the competition if they don't want to since no one from the Shark Tank is fighting. Santana would have if she made it to the finals, but because she didn't, Brittany is the only one left and that fight is on the final day. They have one day to relax and damn, Santana needs it.

That evening, Santana pops a pain killer in the middle of the night when she wakes up in pain. She feels tears fall from her eyes as she balls her fists into the sheets from stinging discomfort every time she takes in a deep breath. Brittany ends up waking up from the sniffing and quickly leaps to her feet to find some ice for her. Santana curls into Brittany the best she can that night, falling asleep to Brittany cradling her and giving her kisses to the forehead.

They take it easy the next day. Brittany goes to the hotel gym early in the morning to get in a light work out without waking Santana up then they go for lunch with Brittany's parents. Santana chats with Brittany's sister when she realizes that Brittany is having a serious conversation with her parents at the beverage fountain at the other end of the restaurant ending in a hug. She shrugs it off and continues talking to the smaller Pierce.

* * *

The last and final day has arrived. Brittany is changed and is ready to go. Santana does her hair in the morning the way she did it the first day, the way Brittany likes it best. They walk into the stadium with a giant sign that hangs from the center ring that says **Black Belt Finals**. Nessa is taking out warm up gear for Brittany and Nicholas is chatting with a few fighters he met during the past few days.

Brittany's fight won't be for a couple more hours, but she will find out her opponent soon when they post it on the giant screen by the main doors. They watch some more of the competition as well as watch Tara, Brittany's bubbly friend. Santana's eyes go wide when she sees how fast and aggressive this tiny firecracker can be. Now she knows why they call her Tara the Torpedo.

Santana finishes up talking to Brittany's mom when she looks around for her girlfriend. She finds her talking to another tall blonde that she's not very fond of. Cassie shakes Brittany's hand and gives her a hug. Brittany smiles at her and nods her head. Cassie must feel Santana's glare bore into her head because she turns to look at Santana and gives her a shy smile. Santana just continues her look of disapproval. Even though the fight ended in good sportsmanship, she still has ill feelings towards the girl from everything else she has done. Santana walks towards Brittany after Cassie leaves to confront her about being nice to the enemies when Brittany kisses her cheek and smiles at her.

As if knowing what Santana was going to say she answers, "She was telling me how proud of you I should be. How you were an even better fighter than the person in the finals last night. She told me how impressed she was of your skill and that she regrets ever siding with Kenneth and making bad choices when it came to you. She told me how lucky I was to have you." This renders Santana speechless and Brittany just gives her another smile and kisses her cheek again.

Just then, a horde of people make their way to the giant screens. The final fights must be posted. The girls walk hand in hand towards the screen.

Santana's hand tightens around Brittany when they finally find her name.

Brittany's eyes squint and she wets her lips. She nods in acceptance. She looks up to find someone looking at her. A short fat man with greasy hair combed over to the side. His polo shirt has a green stain on it and he's wearing a smirk that belongs to the back of her hand. Kenneth is watching her intently. He shoots her a wink and walks away, his shoulders bouncing as he chuckles to himself.

The girls look again at the screen.

 **Black Belt Finals: feather weight division –** ** _B. Pierce (The Shark Tank, Ohio) VS L. Samson (Lowell's Workout Studio and Training Centre, Ohio)_**

* * *

Comments? Constructive criticism? Reviews? Please be kind. The next chapter will be the last, I apologize if the story has been too long.

XOXO


	49. Chapter 47

AN: Final Chapter! Thank you everyone for your support and comments! It's been a long journey but I hope you enjoy the end to this story.

* * *

 _"Ladies and gentlemen, in less than an hour we will begin with our Black Belt Finals in the center ring. These are the fights you don't want to miss!"_ the voice over the microphone speaks loudly.

Santana is in the bleachers talking to the Pierces while Brittany is in the warm up room with Nessa.

"Excuse me," Santana hears a quiet voice just above her. The two adult Pierces look up which causes Santana to turn her head. "Hi, excuse me. Sorry. Are you Santana Lopez?"

Santana nods and turns her body to face the little girl not older than eight years old holding her mother's hand. The little girl is wearing a white karate gi with a yellow belt wrapped around her waist.

"Yes, I am," Santana says trying not to wince at the pain that shoots from her rib from turning too fast.

"See mom! I told you!" the little girl tries to whisper.

Santana gives a tight lipped smile as the mother speaks, "I'm sorry to bother you, but my daughter watched your fight the other day and she wouldn't stop talking about you. Actually, our whole family hasn't really stopped talking about you. You did amazing fighting that blonde girl… July something?"

"Cassie July," Santana nods.

"Yes! That's right! We've heard her name before and were told to watch her fights so little Sandy here could learn a thing or two for the future but then you came along and blew us all away. Rumor has it that you haven't trained more than 6 months?"

Santana tilts her head back and forth deciding on what to say, "Well, I've trained on and off recreationally with my girlfriend but started seriously training for this competition 4 or 5 months ago."

Little Sandy's eyes go wide and look up at her mom before looking back at Santana then back at her mom then back at Santana. "I've practiced longer than her, Mommy!"

The mother chuckles and pats the girl on the head. "Anyway, I'm sorry to bother you but we were wondering who your instructor was. Your girlfriend you said, was it?"

Santana nods and looks over at the two adult Pierces watching the conversation intently while Brittany's sister has lost interest and is staring at some younger men training topless just at the bottom of the bleachers.

"Yes, my girlfriend co-owns The Shark Tank back home in Ohio. These are her parents," Santana says and gestures behind her.

"Wow! That's amazing! You should be proud of your daughter, she has trained some great students."

"Oh we are!" Brittany's dad says excitedly.

"What's her name?"

"Brittany Pierce," all three of them say at the same time. The smaller blonde rolls her eyes.

"Pierce… Pierce… I saw that name somewhere."

"She's fighting soon in the black belt finals," Santana says proudly.

Both mother and daughter nod knowingly. "Anyway, thank you for speaking with us Miss Lopez, I wish your girlfriend –" she looks up at the parents "- and your daughter, the best of luck."

They give polite smiles as the mother turns away to walk down the bleaches when the young Sandy pull at her mother's shirt, "Mom!" she whines.

"Oh right," the mom says as she turns around, "Miss Lopez, Sandy would like a photo with you if you don't mind."

Santana feels herself blush then looks around, seeing that there are a few other eyes on her right now, she nods.

Mama Pierce helps them take a photo and the little girl launches herself into Santana's arm for a hug. Santana give out a short grunt at the pain that just surged through her body but tries her best not to show it. Santana just smiles the best she can and hugs the little girl back.

"Thank you," the mother says politely. "Oh, and Miss Lopez, if I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure I've seen you before… on television perhaps?"

"Perhaps," Santana says with a smirk and a wink.

"I knew it! Anyways, thanks again." The mom turns and the little girl waves at Santana before hopping down the steps with her mother.

"That was the cutest thing ever!" Brittany's mom says in a high pitch voice while clapping her hands.

Santana's eyes follow the mom and daughter back to their family of what Santana assumes is about 14 people, but some may just be some of their teammates. Some of them are looking at her with big smiles on their faces and excited looks when little Sandy shows them the photo on her mother's phone.

"Super cute," Santana says with a small nod and a wave when members from Sandy's 'family' wave at her, missing the smiles Brittany's parents give each other.

15 minutes until fight time, Santana decides to head down to the floor so she can give Brittany a good luck kiss and also watch from the sidelines next to Nessa. While Santana makes her way down the bleachers, slightly holding onto her left ribs, and walking through the gym to the warm up area, she is stopped a few more times by spectators and athletes who told her how great she did and how she could be the next big name in the community if she continues training. She thanks them all politely before quickly making her way over to Brittany.

Brittany has her headphones on and Nessa is holding punching pads for her. Brittany kicks three times then sprints down the length of the room then back to throw some punches and then sprints again. She stands to the side, making sure she doesn't disrupt her girlfriend.

Santana looks around the warm up room and sees ugly green track jackets with red stripes and weird gold trim with blue outline, her lips curl in disgust wondering who the fuck would wear something like that but then rolls her eyes when she sees who it is. Leigh is doing sit ups while Kenneth is standing next to him, half coaching him and half side-eyeing Brittany. When Leigh changes to push ups, Kenneth's eyes snap up and makes eye contact with Santana. He smirks his nauseating smirk and tells Leigh to stand up. He holds up the pads for Leigh to hit or to possibly show off and intimidate Santana and hopefully Brittany. Leigh is fast, Santana does not deny it. He's fast and he's pretty strong, so Brittany will definitely have some competition. Seeing the speed that Leigh's hands are moving, is beginning to scare Santana so she looks away, hearing Kenneth's signature evil chuckle when she does.

Brittany throws Nessa lightly to the ground and when Nessa stands up she nudges her chin towards Santana's direction. Brittany looks over and a smile takes over her very serious and ferocious face.

She pulls one side of her head phones off her ear and walks towards her girlfriend, "Hey baby." She leans in for a chaste kiss before removing her headphones completely and hanging them off her neck. "Getting bored yet?" she chuckles.

Santana shakes her head, "Actually, no. I had a great time talking with your parents and wow, the people here are so nice. I've received a lot of compliments on my fight with Cassie, and you've got a lot of compliments too because, well, because I did so well," Santana shrugs and rolls her eyes.

Brittany just laughs. "Yeah, people in the martial arts community are really nice if you're good and if you're humble. If they see a good fight or a good fighter, most likely someone will compliment them. See! I told you, you did awesome. Pshhh."

"Oh stop," Santana says and punches Brittany in the arm lightly.

"Owwwwwww! That hurtttttt!" Brittany whines teasingly and rubs at her arm.

"Shut up," Santana laughs. "Anyway, I don't want to distract you too much. I'll go outside and wait for you." She leans in and gives Brittany another quick peck on the cheek, "Oh, and Leigh is over there with douchebag warming up."

"I know," Brittany says. "I don't pay attention to them. If Nessa sees anything worth telling me about, she would. Other than that, I know how they work and I know they will try to play mind games and intimidate me, so I don't bother looking," she says with a shrug.

Santana shakes her head with a smile, "I knew you were a genius, Britt." She takes a hold of Brittany's wrapped hand and kisses her knuckles, "I'll see you later. Good luck, baby. I love you."

"Thank you, I love you too."

Santana exits the warm up room and Brittany slips her headphones back on and does another quick rundown of her strategies. 5 minutes until showtime.

* * *

 _"Ladies and gentlemen, the event you've all been waiting for, our black belt finals starting with the feather weight division,"_ the announcer broadcasts as the stadium falls silent with a few hushed whispers. _"At 5 feet 10 inches, weighting in at 136 pounds, wearing green and gold, representing Lowell's Workout Studio and Training Centre in Ohio, Leigh Samson!"_

The crowd cheers and Leigh walks out of the warm up room with a guy Santana has never seen before following behind him, Leigh walks to his side of the ring and does a few aerial moves to show off and to get the crowd going again. The LWSTC crowd is going crazy. ' _Where the hell is Kenneth?'_ Santana wonders to herself, ' _who is this dude?'_

 _"At 5 feet 8 inches, weighing in at 128 pounds, wearing black and red, representing The Shark Tank, also from Ohio, we have our only female competitor this evening, Brittany Pierce!"_

The crowd goes even crazier. Some people are even stomping their feet on the bleachers causing a loud booming noise. Santana looks around at all the people cheering on her girlfriend and a sense of pride fills her body. Brittany jogs out looking as serious as ever with Nessa following behind with a towel and a water bottle in hand. Once Brittany enters the ring, she takes to her side and closes her eyes, focusing on her breathing and concentrating on her fight, a very different approach from Leigh.

 _"Just to clarify the rules, we have five - three minute rounds. Throws, submissions, knockouts, and ring pushes are all viable options. However, groin kicks, elbows, knees, and any biting or eye gauging can and will result in a warning or disqualification. Now, our judges_ …" The announcer calls out four judges, three male and one female and each take on a corner of the ring, taking a seat with clickers in each hand to count their points. " _Our center referee for tonight will be the very experienced and one of our largest sponsors, Mr. Kenneth Lowell!_ "

There is a polite applause from the crowd and in waddles Kenneth with a too-friendly look on his face waving enthusiastically to no one in particular.

"What the fuck!" Santana hisses out from beside the ring. "How is he allowed to referee?"

Nessa hears Santana and shakes her head in disappointment, "Sometimes they pre-set the judges before the competition even begins. They sign a contract promising that if they end up judging their own students or members, they will judge honestly without bias or favouritism. They promise to be fair or have their referee licence revoked," Nessa says with a shrug. "It sucks but it's a rule. Let's just hope he keeps his word."

"Fucking bullshit," Santana mumbles. "He's a fucking liar, he won't keep his promise."

"Then Brittany will just have to beat him by so much that even _he_ can't do anything about it."

Santana's eyes are focused as she grabs the towel from Nessa's hand to keep her own hands busy by wringing it between her fists. "Come on, baby. You've got this." Santana whispers.

As if Brittany hears it, she looks over at Santana in that moment and gives her a wink then a nod.

Kenneth calls the competitors in and they touch gloves. Brittany and Leigh have their eyes locked on each other as the spectators quiet down.

"FIGHT!" Kenneth calls and Brittany and Leigh begin to circle around each other.

Leigh starts off with a couple of jabs to test out the waters, all of which Brittany dodged with ease. He throws a few kicks which Brittany blocks easily as well, then he throws one extremely hard back leg round house that Brittany blocks but still knocks her backwards. The crowd is full of _oohs_ and _woahs_.

"Stay calm, Britt. Stay calm," Santana whispers to herself this time.

Brittany shakes off her arms and re-centers herself. Leigh blitzes in with 3 very fast punches and it pushes Brittany back. Brittany grabs his arm and throws him over her hip. Landing him on the ground with a thud. She tries to get into the grappling position but he quickly stands up. There are cheers from the stands as people begin to get excited.

Leigh comes in again with the exact same three punches, but this time Brittany throws a side kick and nails him in the midsection pushing him back. She throws a jab that lands on his chin and then a leg kick that catches him right on the thigh. She follows up with three punches of her own, missing the first one but the last two hitting him on the left cheek and chest. Brittany rushes at him and tackles him to the ground. She straddles him and begins punching at his head or whatever she can hit.

"BREAK!"

Brittany continues punching, not hearing the call.

"BREAK!" Kenneth yells again and roughly pulls Brittany back by shoulder, and she falls off Leigh and onto the mats.

Brittany stands and puts her arms out in a - _what the fuck was that for_ \- motion.

"Your knee was in his abdomen and knees are not allowed. I am giving you a warning."

"WHAT?" Santana screams out and the crowd begins to murmur. "That's fucking ridiculous! Cassie did almost the exact same thing to me!"

Nessa shakes her head, "He's being a fucking idiot. It's a completely legal move. I mean, they don't allow that for the kids and youth division for safety reasons, but come on! This is fucking adult black belts, they can take a fucking knee to the stomach!"

Leigh gets back to his feet and Santana can see the corner judges shake their heads slightly. Disagreeing with that call.

"Fight!" Kenneth calls out and Santana's attention snaps back to her girlfriend.

Brittany throws a spinning hook kick that catches Leigh on the head and knocks him onto the mats. He wobbles but gets up before Brittany can mount him again. An uppercut catches Brittany on the left side of her chin and she takes a few steps backwards. Leigh sweeps his leg and Brittany falls. Right away, Leigh is on her with his knee blatantly on the center of her stomach as he begins his punches, grinding his knee deeper into her abs. Brittany is doing the best she can to block his punches.

Both Nessa and Santana's arms go out waiting for him to call a break. Nothing.

Santana runs her hand through her hair. People are pointing at the action going on, everyone wondering why nothing is being called. Kenneth looks towards the timer, seeing that there is only 2 seconds left, he calls break and lightly pulls Leigh off of Brittany. Warning him about the same thing. By the time he calls for the fight to start again, the buzzer sounds and both competitors go to their coaches.

"He can't do that!" Santana yells out to Nessa. "He let him keep his knee on her for over 10 seconds! She only did it for three before he fucking tore her off of him!" Santana raises her arms and slaps them against her thigh in a rage. But Nessa can't do anything, well, technically she can call for arbitration, but she knows Kenneth will just have some lame ass excuse so there is no point. Instead, she just coaches Brittany for the upcoming round.

 _"Winner of the first round, with the score of 48 to 39, Brittany Pierce!"_ The crowd cheers but Santana can only sigh in relief at the score knowing that Brittany still has a ways to go if Kenneth continues to cheat like this.

Santana hands Brittany her towel and Brittany takes it from her, still focused on what Nessa has to say. After a minute break, they get called back to the center to start the second round.

"FIGHT!" Kenneth yells our and makes a cutting motion between Brittany and Leigh to start the round.

Leigh starts fast right off the bat. Swinging his arms in full force towards Brittany. Jab. Cross. Jab. Cross. Hook. Cross. Jab. Brittany does her best to dodge him but Leigh manages to land a few punches to the head and abdomen. Brittany shuffles to the side and tries to push him back with a side kick that hits him right in the chest. Punches and kicks are exchanged and from the looks of it Leigh still has a little bit of a lead.

"Look for the weak spot Brittany!" Nessa yells from the side.

Brittany is circling Leigh cautiously and finally goes for a leg shot. Then another. Leigh is not quick enough and Brittany lands a third kick to the leg. Leigh stumbles back and that's when Brittany goes for the throw. She puts a foot behind Leigh and trips him backwards. He falls on his back and she tries to put him in a leg lock. Brittany his twisting his ankle sideways with medium force, hoping Leigh will tap out before she dislocates his foot.

"BREAK!" Kenneth yells and right away Brittany lets go and shuffles back.

"Did he tap?" Santana leans towards Nessa to ask the question but not taking her eyes off Brittany.

"Umm… I didn't see him tap. I don't think so."

There are mumbles in the crowd and even the side judges are looking at each other, one male judge scratching his temple in confusion.

Some words are exchanged between Leigh and Kenneth. Kenneth then turns to the announcer, "I thought I saw him tap, but apparently he didn't." Leigh shakes his head, letting the announcer know he did not tap out. "The match will continue with 1 minute and 46 seconds left. Back to the previous position please."

Santana rolls her eyes, "Fucking hell. Brittany could have won that match."

"Yes, she could've," Nessa agrees. "I'm sure that was intentional too."

"Ladies and gentlemen, that was a mistake on the refs part. There was no tap out. The match will continue from the last position.

Brittany looks over at Nessa and Santana and she shakes her head in disbelief. Santana is biting her bottom lip so she doesn't yell out profanities towards Kenneth. Both Leigh and Brittany go back on the ground where Brittany wraps her hands over Leigh's ankle again; getting in position.

"Annnddd… fight!"

Brittany barely has time to start putting pressure on Leigh's ankle when he slips out of her grasp. He grabs her wrist and pushes her down so her stomach is on the mats. He's pulling back on her arm and Brittany has no choice, unless she wants to fight the rest of the matches with a broken wrist, she taps out.

Kenneth calls a break and Leigh lets go, doing a backwards roll off of Brittany and strutting to his corner.

Brittany walks back towards Nessa looking defeated and definitely pissed off. She's rotating her wrist to make sure everything is okay.

"Are you okay, Britt?" Santana asks when she hands her the towel.

Brittany shakes her head. "How can I win if they're going to cheat?" Brittany throws the towel on her face and wipes off the sweat.

"Do you want me to call for arbitration?" Nessa asks.

Brittany shakes her head again, "No. There's no point, like he said 'he didn't see it.'" She uses air quotes.

"You can try to submit him again, there's no way he will make the same mistake twice. If that was even a mistake," Santana says when she takes the towel back.

"I didn't think it was," Brittany says while taking a deep breath. "I felt Leigh begin to slip out of my grip before he even called fight the second time. He had already started pulling his foot out, it's like they've practiced this."

Nessa coaches Brittany through a few more things before the break is over and they go into the third round.

Brittany is angry. When Brittany is angry, she hits a lot harder than she usually would. In her entire career she has never purposely knocked anyone out. There had been accidents, but never intentionally. She would always submit or just collect as many points as possible.

Brittany starts off the fight with big strong kicks. One that hits Leigh right on the arm with a _wack_ and the crowd _oohs_ at the sound. That one will leave a bruise for sure. She throws another kick with the other leg that he blocks and straight away she kicks again and lands her kick across his chest. She throws a punch to the head which he fails to duck and hits him right in the eye.

Santana cheers, hopping up and down in the sidelines while holding her sore rib.

Leigh ends up being pushed off the mats and Kenneth calls a break. Having to reward Brittany extra points for doing so. They both go back into the center and start again. This time, Leigh is quick enough to catch one of Brittany's lightening fast kicks and pulls her to the ground.

Santana swears she can see Kenneth smile.

Leigh is trying to choke Brittany out but Brittany had remembered to keep her chin down so Leigh won't be able to get to her neck. Brittany is trying to pull his arm back, but he is definitely stronger than her.

"His chin is open! Chin! Chin!" Santana yells out and Brittany lifts her arm and pushes a palm to his chin, pulling his head upward. This gives Brittany enough leverage to slip downwards and out of his hold. Struggling to get up, Leigh grabs a hold of Brittany again and starts punching at the back of her head. She puts her hands behind her head to block him. This is a horrible position for Brittany to be in so she lifts her hips up and twists her body trying to flip herself around. Finally she manages to do so but a fist comes flying and smacks Brittany on her cheekbone. Leigh winds up for another hard hit but this time Brittany sits up the best she can and grabs his head and tugs it forward. He falls with his head in between Brittany's forearm and bicep. With 40 seconds left, this is Brittany's chance to choke him out with a guillotine.

Santana is keeping her eyes on Kenneth this time. If he makes a move to break them before Leigh taps she is going to throw a shit fest.

Kenneth's eyes are worried and seconds later Leigh's arm goes up and taps Brittany on the arm. Brittany begins to let go as soon as he taps but Kenneth still pulls her arm back with unnecessary force and her arm slams down on the mats hard.

Leigh gets up and Kenneth is right there making sure his neck is okay. Leigh rubs it a couple times before nodding at Kenneth and walking back to his other trainer.

Brittany gets up and receives a deadly glare from Kenneth. She keeps her face straight and walks to her coach and girlfriend.

There is a cut and a bruise forming under Brittany's left eye. Nessa helps her clean it up quickly before Brittany heads out for the fourth round.

The round starts and Leigh is beginning to look tired. He throws some wild punches that Brittany avoids easily. Majority of the fight has been a stand up match full of punches and kicks, neither of them willing to take the match to the ground. There is 1 minute and 12 seconds left. Leigh has fallen into the corner of the ring, one step away from being out of bounds when Brittany throws and weak jab in attempt to push him out but is grabbed by Leigh. She is dragged in closer and _WHAP!_

"HEY!" Santana and Nessa shout out simultaneously.

Brittany's head whips backwards and she stumbles a couple of steps before falling onto her butt, clutching the side of her head.

"Foul! That's an illegal move!" Nessa calls out and she receives a blazing glare from Kenneth. He rolls his eyes and calls a break in the fight.

Leigh makes his way to his corner to talk to his coach and Brittany stays on the ground trying to catch her breath and blink away the pain. Finally she gets up and walks over towards Santana since Nessa is now having a conversation with Kenneth and is calling for an arbitration about the illegal elbow to the side of Brittany's head.

"Are you okay, Britt?" Santana's hands go straight to Brittany's head but is stopped by a pair of gloved hands. A medic's hand. Santana's eyes are on fire as she stares the man down. The medic hesitates for a moment but when Brittany tells him it's okay to continue, he does so after another short glance over at whom we have all come to know now as Snixx – Santana's evil alternate ego.

"How are you feeling?" He asks.

"How do you think she's feeling? She just got a fucking elbow to the head! How would you feel if I fucking elbowed you in the head?" Santana's words are rushed and full of anger as she raises her elbow at the much taller man.

"Santana!" Brittany says sternly, "He's just trying to help."

One look into the pained blue eyes and all the wrath she wanted to enforce on the innocent medic is gone. She nods and lets the medic continue with his job.

"I felt a little light headed right after the impact, but I think I'm okay now."

"Did you black out at all?"

Brittany glances over at Santana with a worried look in her eyes. Santana is sporting the same look while biting her bottom lip.

Brittany's eyes flash back at the medic and shrugs, "I don't know, maybe. Maybe a little bit," she says quietly.

Santana's jaw drops open, "What?" she says in an airy breath.

"Do you still feel like you would like to continue the fight?"

"No!" Santana says with a shake of the head.

"Yes," Brittany says. "I'm fine."

"Britt, no!"

"Excuse me," Brittany puts a hand on the medic's shoulder and he nods in understanding and takes a step back.

"Brittany, what are you thinking?" Santana says in a rush.

"Santana, I need this. I need to finish this fight. I'm fine. I promise you. I'm okay!"

"But –"

"No, I'm doing this Santana, I'm not giving up and I need your support. Will you give me that?"

Santana says nothing but nods.

"Thank you," Brittany whispers. She turns to over to the medic and gives him a thumbs up. He nods and makes his way over Kenneth and Nessa.

After the Arbitrator has gone through the rules with both Kenneth and Nessa, Brittany is awarded a measly 2 points for Leigh's illegal elbow. The majority of the people around missing the slight nod Kenneth and the Arbitrator had given each other before the man exits the ring.

The fight is called to begin again and Brittany knows that if she wins this round, then it's over. However, with the fear of Leigh throwing another elbow again, she shuffles back a little too much and steps out of the ring. This ends up happening twice and Leigh is able to gain some extra points. The buzzer goes off and Brittany knows she lost the fight. Shaking her head she makes her way towards Nessa.

"Brittany! It's the last round, you got this. Give it everything you got," Nessa tries to pump some energy back into Brittany.

Brittany only licks her lips and looks back down at the floor with a nod, "It's hard when I don't know what other shit they're going to pull. I don't want to forfeit but 2 points for that elbow? Come on!"

Santana taps Nessa on the shoulder and she steps out of the way so Santana can give her two cents.

"Brittany," She grabs a hold of Brittany's wrapped hand. "You can do this. I know you can. I believe in you just as much as you believed in me to fight Cassie. I'll let you borrow some Snixx juice..." the girls smile at each other. "... but I really, REALLY want you to kick some ass out there. If they're going to cheat, let them cheat. There are hundreds of eyes watching and they are just going to look that much more ridiculous if they end up losing even after pulling all those stunts. Everyone already knows who they are, but you will need to put everything you have into it. Give him no reason to win. Kick his ass so hard that his stupid little club back home can feel it. Do it for what happened to Quinn. Do it for my bruised rib. Do it for The Shark Tank. But mostly importantly Brittany, I know, I just know you can beat him. I know you can win. My girl is tough. My girl is strong. My girl is the fiercest fighter here in this gym today. Are you my girl?"

Brittany's eyes lock with Santana's as they connect their hearts and minds together. "Are you my girl?" Santana repeats.

Brittany nods, "Yes."

"Then my girl is going to go out there, fight this last round and give it everything she has because my girl is a fuckin' fighter!"

Brittany nods again just as they are being called back into the ring.

"You can do it, baby. I love you," Santana whispers to no one but herself as she wrings the towel tighter around her hand.

The final round begins much like the first round. They are testing each other out again. Finally, Leigh decides to rush in and start throwing punches and kicks. Brittany retaliates with hits of her own. A blazing fast punch and Leigh takes Brittany down. Trying to submit her by putting her in a leg lock, she manages to flip herself around and stands up again. Brittany gets in numerous kicks to Leigh's body but is swept down during a high head kick. Again, Leigh is desperate for a submission by trying to get a hold of her neck.

"Circle to the right! To the right, Britt!" Santana yells out. Brittany follows her instructions. "Push upwards and twist behind him!" Brittany slowly pushes his arms up while pulling her body down and twisting behind him using all the agility she has, she manages to get loose and the crowd goes wild. Santana jumps up in excitement only to wince in pain when her ribs tell her it's not time to be jumping up and down yet.

Leigh is now angry and his coach is swearing in a different language. He throws two hook punches to the head and one to the body which hits Brittany right in the stomach. He steps back and charges again, this time with two rapid kicks, Brittany ducks out of the way and throws a punch to his chin which knocks him off balance. He stumbles to the side and Brittany spins quickly and whips her leg around catching Leigh right on the jaw with a wheel kick. The hit is heard and Santana swears it echoed through the room. Leigh's head whips back and his body limps and falls to the ground in an obvious knockout. The room is silent as they wait for Kenneth to call for the fight to end, but he doesn't. At this point, Brittany doesn't know if she should continue if Kenneth doesn't call break but at the same time, she is not going to hit an unconscious man. Kenneth glares at Leigh for a moment longer and shakes his head. He waves his arm across his body signalling that the fight is over.

Medics rush to Leigh's side and after half a minute he stirs and is helped up by his coach and the medics.

The announcer's voice is heard through the speakers, "Winner of the feather weight black belt division with a TKO... Brittany Pierce!"

The crow cheers wildly and Santana gives Nessa a big hug when Brittany walks to the middle of the ring to shake the judges hands. Kenneth, however, had already left in when Leigh was being helped out and into the change room. After the tournament host steps into the ring to give Brittany her medal, she runs and gives Nessa a big hug to thank her for her help and then she looks at Santana. Their eyes speaking louder than any words possible and she engulfs Santana in a huge hug. Santana flinches with pain and Brittany backs off with concern but Santana just tugs on her arms and pulls her back in. Hugging tightly.

"I'm so proud of you, baby. I'm so proud of you," Santana yells over the cheering from the crowd.

"Thank you, now let's get out of here," Brittany says and gives Santana a linger kiss on the cheek. She grabs her hand as they make their way out of the gym and into the change room. Nessa following after.

That evening, Santana treats their team along with Brittany's family to a big dinner. The Pierces fly out tonight and the team flies out the next day. They say their goodbyes and Santana and Brittany promises that they will have another dinner very soon, and with a wink from her father, the Pierces head back to their hotel.

* * *

"Mmm, that was, wow," Brittany pants. Her sweaty body sprawled on the bed and Santana sliding up her torso trailing kisses from her thighs upward.

Santana chuckles as she snuggles into Brittany's side, "Yes, that was."

"I've missed this," Brittany says with her eyes closed as she strokes up and down Santana's arm with her finger tips.

"Well, we could've done this sooner if you hadn't passed out last night."

"Hey! I was tired, and really, really sore. I got a lot of boo-boos, San," Brittany says with a pout.

Santana lifts her face to kiss at the pout, "I know, baby." She traces her finger along the edge of the very dark bruise that formed in the center of Brittany's abs from Leigh's knee. Then she brushes her lips over the cut and bruise on Brittany's cheek. "I know."

After a few moments of snuggling, Santana begins to silently giggle to herself. Sensing the vibration of Santana's body, Brittany decides to ask, "What are you laughing about?"

Santana only giggles harder.

"What? What is it?" Brittany pulls back and looks at Santana's face, all scrunched up trying to hold down her laughter.

"You! Just yesterday you were a hardcore-take-no-shit-from-no-one bad ass, and now you're talking about your 'boo-boos?'"

Brittany joins in on the laughter, "What can I say? You make me all snuggly," she says as she pulls Santana in tighter.

"Are you ready to go back to the studio tomorrow?" Santana says as she begins to close her eyes as well.

"Mhm, I would like to take pictures with all of us and our medals in front of the Tank. Sue said she will be here tomorrow afternoon."

"What time are you heading in?"

"Probably around 3. I have the interview with the Lima Liner again at 8am. Then with LCTV for their interview for the local news at 11am."

"You're like a celebrity in this small town now, baby."

Brittany lets out a breath of laughter then kisses the top of Santana's head, "You're the celebrity. You're still getting fan mail."

"Okay, a letter from one little girl isn't really fan mail, Britt."

"It is when she sends you a photo to sign."

Santana just shrugs but keeps the smiles on her face as she drifts off to sleep.

* * *

The girls enter The Shark Tank for the first time since the tournament and the place is decorated with a big congratulations sign and balloons ordered by Quinn. The members all applaud when they enter the studio and handshakes and questions fly out from all directions. After a few words to Quinn, Sue, and Nessa, Brittany puts her sports bag down and goes into her office to catch up on some work and make some calls while Santana stays outside to chat with Quinn. The class with Ashley had just started so they quiet their voices. Nicholas runs into the studio with the newspaper in his hand. He runs straight into Brittany's office and after a few moments of looking at each other, Quinn, Santana, Sue, and Nessa follow him.

"What's going on?" Santana asks when they step into the office. Brittany has the news paper on her desk and is reading it intently. "What happened? What does it say?"

Brittany clears her throat, "It's an article about... well, about the tournament ... and... here..." She turns the paper around and the group crowds to read it.

 **Empty words, Empty hearts, Empty studios.**

 **Over the last few days, a major martial arts competition was held in Orlando, Florida from which two teams from our small little town had represented. The Shark Tank and Lowell's Workout Studio and Training Centre. If you follow the fitness news, then you know these are two rival studios. Brittany Pierce had once worked under Kenneth Lowell but a fire began to ignite when accusations and false information began to leak and circle around. Who was telling the truth? Who was lying? No one knew. Until now.**

 **Pierce, 23, had been instructing martial arts, kickboxing, and self defense classes for years at the very successful Shark Tank owned by Sue Sylvester, that is now the LWSTC location. Sources say that Lowell, 52, had bought the studio and made so many changes that instructors were forced to leave. After this past competition, we had a phone interview with two judges from the World Martial Arts Federation that were judging at the competition and asked how our 2 studios did. This is what they said. '** ** _Pierce was amazing'._**

"YES!" Santana says a lot louder than expected and everyone looks at her. "Sorry."

 ** _Pierce, Representing The Shark Tank had three people, including herself, join the competition. A novice fighter, an intermediate fighter (who had only been training for months), and a black belt fighter – Pierce. The team was great. Pierce really knows how to train her members from the ground up. Literally. They have their basics down, the fighting techniques and fundamentals were clean, and they were the all round package this competition. They can grapple, throw, and spar. If she keeps training her members to fight this way, we are going to be very excited to watch the next competition. However, the same cannot be said about LWSTC. More than 5 members entered the competition, and although the skill set was high, there were some major issues. Some of their fighters were sloppy and had no technique. They would come out just wailing on their opponents but more times than not would tire themselves out. This lacks discipline. We approached a few of their members at the competition to give them some tips on improvement, but they would turn their backs on us. This shows a lack of respect. Interestingly enough, the final fight was against Pierce and LWSTC head instructor, Leigh Samson, 24. It was an intense fight that went through all 5 rounds. However, we noticed an abundance of cheating and favouritism. Lowell, had been the referee for the fight, and as a professional, I can personally say that I would bow out if one of my members were to fight in the finals. To judge your own in the finals is just in bad taste. It never looks good, and it really did not look good for Lowell that day. Numerous times we the judges as well as the crowd were confused about the calls Lowell made and or did not make. A tight win by Pierce should not have been so tight if there was not blatant favouritism by the LWSTC owner. We are glad that Pierce was able to showcase herself and that she pulled through in the final fight. Anyone would be lucky to train under her. Lowell on the other hand, if he does not change the amount of or lack of integrity, respect, and honour in that studio, we don't see it lasting very much longer_** _._

"Oh my God, Britt! This is amazing! Do you know who this person is?" Santana asks when she looks up from the article.

Brittany shakes her head, "I don't know all the judges from the federation, there were many of them there. But it's totally cool they said that."

"It's well deserved, Brittany. Congratulations," Sue says and Brittany rounds her desk to give Sue a hug.

"Thank you. Thank you for everything, Sue."

"I do what I can for the people I believe in."

The group chats amongst each other until they hear Ashley's class dismiss and Sue and Quinn make their way back to the front to answer any questions on memberships.

"Oh, hey Britt," Santana says with a snap of the fingers.

"Yes babe?"

"Where did you put the necklace you gave me? I forgot to put it back on after the competition."

"It's in my bag."

"Is it outside? I'll go get it."

"Okay," Brittany says and Santana stands up half way, "No wait!" Brittany suddenly bursts out, startling her, "It's not in my bag. It's... it's at home."

"Oh, if you took it out of your bag, why didn't you just give it to me?"

"Um, because you were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you."

"Really? But you fell asleep before I did since we came back."

"I woke up in the middle of the night to pee... and I remembered to take it out to give it back to you, but I guess I forgot this morning."

"Weird, I didn't see it on our dresser or washroom or anything. Where did you put it?"

"Uhh, my night table."

Santana chuckles, "Okay, Britt. It's no big deal, I'll just get it when we go home. You don't need to be all sweaty and nervous. I'm not mad or anything."

Brittany just smiles and ducks her head down to finish up some paperwork.

* * *

When all the members of leave the studio, Brittany stays behind to clean up and answer a few more emails before they leave. Santana is organizing the pamphlets and Brittany is digging through her bag behind her.

"Oh, San. I think this belongs to you."

"Was my necklace in your bag this whole time?" Santana laughs as she straightens out the last pamphlet and turns around. Her smile fades completely and her eyes have never been wider. She grips onto the receptions desk to steady herself as her left hand covers her dropped jaw.

Brittany is on one knee next to her sport bag, holding up a black velvet box with a simple diamond ring on a gold band sparkling at her.

Santana can tell Brittany is nervous by the way she's breathing and by her hands slightly shaking.

"Santana, I love you. I love you more than I love anything else in the world. I never knew what true happiness really felt like until I met you. You are my biggest supporter, my rock when I'm not strong, and the love of my life. I can't imagine my life without you anymore. You are my everything. Santana Lopez, will you marry me?"

For a moment, Santana feels like she can't breathe. Her heart is throwing confetti and blowing on blow horns that the words Brittany was saying had actually been delayed. She believes her brain was too busy doing cartwheels to register the words that were coming out of her girlfriend's mouth.

"Yes," she squeaks. Finally her words coming to her. "Yes," She says louder this time.

Brittany's face lights up and she stands, slipping the diamond ring onto Santana's left hand. They hug so tight that Santana forgets that her rib is still bruised. After at least a minute of hugging, Brittany pulls back to wipe a stray tear from Santana's eye and leans in for a soft tender kiss.

"So, now that we are both kickass fighters and we are going to get married, can I safely say that..." Brittany looks around the empty studio, "... there will be no damsels here?"

Santana laughs and pulls Brittany by the cheeks for another kiss and mumbles, "Yes, Britt. Soon enough, there will be no damsels here."

THE END

* * *

AN: Thank you guys sooooo much! As for a sequel - maybe. If I do, it will be further into the future for our girls - what do you think? But for now I am going to take a break from this story and focus on my other one. It has more angst and less bad ass-ory but more feels. I may continue with a sequel for this story after I'm finished my next one. I am going to post a short intro to my new story right now, so please check it out and let me know what you think.

Thank you again! My readers are so special and so important to me, and I'm talking about YOU! XOXO Love you guys.

Comments? Reviews? Constructive criticism? Please be kind.

Zie.


	50. A message from the writer

Just to let you all know. I've started a new Brittana story called "I'll Be Here." If you haven't already, please check it out! I promise you I am putting all my efforts into that story so I don't let you down, but because of this, I haven't had a chance to start on a sequel to this yet. BUT I've decided that I will! No Damsel Here is very important to me as my first story so I want to give you all the inside scoop on what happens after the engagement and how our kick-ass couple plans to to start something bigger than a martial arts studio.

So stay tuned! but until then, check out I'll Be Here!

Love you all! XOXO

Zie


End file.
